


Lacrimosa

by ForsakenAngel88



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Altean Lance (Voltron), Character Death, F/M, Galra Keith (Voltron), Galra Shiro (Voltron), M/M, Magic, Minor Allura/Shiro (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-13
Updated: 2017-03-08
Packaged: 2018-09-24 01:35:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 27,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9694073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ForsakenAngel88/pseuds/ForsakenAngel88
Summary: After the deaths of the eldest heirs sparked a decade long war between the Galra Empire and the Kingdom of Altea, the land ran red with the blood of the innocents. For many years, the two Kingdoms purged lands and slaughtered each others armies which drenched the land with a deadly mist.But when two princes from the warring Kingdoms fall in love, they will discover that there is more to this war than they were lead to believe.





	1. Uncertainty

**Author's Note:**

> This is my very first Klance fic!! I am very excited to share this with you all. This AU came from a drawing I did for a giveaway prize on my tumblr, which can be found here : http://forsakenangel88-art.tumblr.com/post/156818373745
> 
> Please let me know what you think and I hope you enjoy <3

Lance marched down the Great Hall of his Altean Palace feeling slightly anxious. The Royal Court was gathered on either side, bowing as their prince made his way to the throne where his father sat. Nothing good ever came from being summoned by his father. As he walked he tried to think of anything that he could have done to upset the King.

“There you are my son!” The King stood and placed his hand on Lance’s shoulder as they turned to face the public. Lance relaxed a little; his father didn’t sound angry with him. “Today is a momentous occasion.” He addressed the room, “We have made significant progress in this war against the Galra Empire; and so I will now turn my attention to other political issues and leave my son, Prince Lance, in charge of resolving this conflict.” Turning back to Lance he placed both hands on his son’s shoulders. “I have full faith in you my son. Make me proud and end this war against those heathens.”

Lance stared into his father’s eyes, feeling honored for being trusted with such an important task, it made his chest swell. “I won’t let you down father!” Bowing, he left the hall to ready himself for battle.

Back in his chambers, Lance’s servant, and best friend, Hunk helped the prince into his armor.

Hunk had been orphaned at a young age. Lance had found him in the streets on one of the trips to the outer cities with his father and had begged him to help the poor boy. He was taken back to the castle and raised as a servant, learning to cook and build mechanics, he took over for Lance’s servant when he turned 16. They had been inseparable ever since.

“Can you believe I’m finally getting my chance to prove myself? If I manage to end this war, I won’t be seen as the screw-up-prince any more. People will look up to me and see me as a hero. They’ll respect me and father will no longer look down at me with disappointment.”

“You aren’t a screw up Lance. You’ve accomplished many great things over the years. Look at all the riots you’ve stopped and how crimes have decreased. The people love you. You are kind and you actually listen to them and do your best to solve their issues. You are already a hero to them.” Hunk replied as he pinned the cape around Lance’s neck.

“My father does not see it that way.” He moved away from Hunk and walked over to the window, sadly gazing out at the city below. “According to him I’m soft and need to learn my priorities. I need to show him I can follow in his footsteps. Ever since my sister was killed by the Galra Empire, he has pushed me to be strong. He says a King should rule with his head, not his heart. It’s my responsibility as the eldest son; I… I don’t want to let everyone down.”

Hunk came up to his side and smiled gently, “Losing Allura was hard on everyone. Your father is a great King, but I believe you will surpass him Lance. He is out of touch with what is happening in his own Kingdom and is fueled by his hate of the Galra Empire. You spend time getting to know your people and have an open mind. The people will rally behind and support you when the time comes for you to ascend to the throne.”

Lance smiled at his friend, “Thanks buddy. You’ve always been there for me.”

Chuckling, Hunk replied, “Well someone has to put up with your antics.”

“Hey! I’m not that bad.” Lance chased Hunk as he ran around the room laughing.

They stopped as a horn sounded throughout the kingdom.

“Come on, it’s time. Remember you only have a few hours before the field is engulfed by poisoned mist again.” Hunk said, bringing Lance his sword. 

The Kingdom and its surrounding neighbors had been cursed by the poison mist for almost a decade now. No one knew where it came from or why it started. History books linked the mist to the loss of Altean magic and the dwindling power of their crystal, which had been used to protect and heal the Kingdom. The mist appears from late afternoon through to mid-morning, only leaving a few short hours for people to travel safely between kingdoms. No one has been able to create a device to withstand the effects of the mist.

“Got it! I can’t wait to kick some Galra butt. They will regret ever messing with Altea!” Lance took his sword and clipped it onto his belt. “Wish me luck buddy, I will see you at dinner time.”

“Don’t be too reckless, you are a great warrior but don’t let your confidence get the better of you.” Hunk leaned in to hug his friend.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.” Lance replied returning the hug, before leaving to meet us with his army.

\--------

The skies were clear and the sun was shining upon them. One couldn’t tell that a few minutes ago the area had been covered in thick fog and the skies cold and grey.

Lance stood in front of his army, watching as the Galra marched forward to meet them.  
The Galra commander raised his right hand and halted his army a few hundred meters from the Altean army, before continuing forward on his own. Lance signaled his troops to stay as he walked up to meet the enemy leader.

“Who are you? What happened to the almighty Altean King? Did he finally come to terms with the fact he can’t defeat me?” the Galra sneered.

Lance narrowed his eyes behind his helmet, biting back, “I am Prince Lance of Altea, first in line to the throne and the greatest warrior in my Kingdom. I would advise against speaking so lowly of my father in my presence.” He readied his sword.

“Well, Lance, I am Prince Keith of the Galra Empire.” he replied, crossing his arms with disinterest. “If you really are the best, then why haven’t I seen you here before? I’ve been fighting this war since I was 15. I am the best swordsman in my Kingdom. There is no hope of you defeating me.” Keith ridiculed. It had been a while since he had someone new to test his skills on. Maybe he might have some sort of challenge today, if Lance ended up being as good as he was saying he was.

Lance scoffed, “We’ll see about that. I may not have fought on the front lines of this war like you, but I have been in my fair share of battles. How about you shut up and show me what you have, or are you all just talk and no bite?”

“Oh you are a feisty one.” Keith laughed, pausing to think for a moment before continuing,  
“Fine, let’s do it, while our men battle each other, I will take you on myself. Meet me by those rocks in a few minutes.” He pointed to a small clearing a few meters to the right before turning to leave, walking back to his army before Lance could have a chance to respond. He was looking forward to testing Lances skills. 

Huffing, Lance walked back to his army, giving them their commands. He couldn’t get over how smug that Galra commander was. Who the hell did he think he was? How dare he talk about his father that way. Lance clenched his fists, anger filling his body. He was going to show that prick a lesson. He stormed over to the clearing near the rocks where he could already see that arrogant ass waiting.

Keith watched Lance come up to him as he unpinned his cape, throwing it to the side. “You ready to get your ass handed to you?” He was having too much fun getting reactions from the other man.

Lance followed suit, taking his own cape off and pulling his sword from its sheath; that over confident voice irritating him further. “I’d like to see you try. Come on already, show me what you have.”

Keith chuckled, walking around Lance as if he was checking him out. “Wow, you are really impatient.” He could see Lance’s eyes follow him, “Ok, let’s check those reflexes then.” Bringing up his sword, he moved quickly and precisely to slice at Lance’s shoulder but was blocked by a sword.

“You really think I’d fall for that. I wouldn’t expect anything else from your kind.” Lance bit back, angrily. He had expected the Galra to play dirty and Keith did not disappoint him. He pushed Keith back and dove in for his own swing.

Blocking Lances advancement, Keith yelled, “What the hell does that mean? You don’t know anything about me. Don’t make assumptions based on what your people have told you!” He shoved back and continued to block the rapid swings Lance was sending him.

“You Galra are all the same. You are all blood thirsty animals who crave nothing but power! You destroy our Kingdoms and take them for your own.” Lance huffed out, tirelessly swinging and blocking with his sword. Growing up, there wasn’t a single day that passed by when Lance didn’t hear how Galra spies sabotaged their trade routes, poisoned their streams, and burned their fields. He knew what these people were capable of and if there was one thing Lance was sure about, the Galra are a dirty, good-for-nothing race that hid behind their cowardly antics. He should really stop talking, getting exhausted this early into the battle was pitiful and Lance was not going to give up when’s he’s come so far.

Keith was furious now, “I thought you might be different from your father, but I see that I was wrong. You are just as ignorant as he is.” He flung Lance back and dropped to kick the other man’s legs from under him. So much for a challenge.

Lance fell back onto the ground with an “oomph”, being stunned from the initial impact, he stayed still, watching as Keith walked up to him and kicked his sword from his hand.

Keith pointed his sword to Lance’s neck. “Any last words?”

He smiled under his helmet, “Yeah, don’t underestimate me.”

Before Keith had time to react, Lance grabbed Keiths legs, bringing him down alongside himself.

He grabbed Keiths sword and climbed up over the other male to straddle him; sword pressed up against his neck. “So much for kicking my ass, looks like I am the better soldier after all.” Lance smirked, pleased that he had managed to get the upper hand. “Do you have any last words, Galra?”

Keith snorted softly, coming to terms that he was about to die, he may as well be himself in his last moments, “Nice job Lance. You beat me fair and square. I do have one request. Show me your face.”

Lance frowned, confused by the request and the softer tone in Keiths voice, “Wha... Why would you want that?”

“I want the last thing I see, to be the face of the one who managed to defeat me. Is that really all that odd?” Keith replied softly.

“I…uh, no, I guess not. Don’t you want to leave a message for your family or anything?” Lance was hesitant about Keith’s sudden change of attitude. Was this just a ploy to distract him so he could get the upper hand? He made sure to keep the sword pressed up against the man’s throat as he lifted his helmet off his head and placed it on the ground beside them.

Keith’s breath caught in is throat as he looked up into bright blue eyes; the sun making them sparkle like sapphires. He was sure he had never seen anything so captivating in his entire life. Nothing as beautiful as this.

“I’m going to take yours off now, alright?” Lance’s voice broke through his trance.

Keith nodded gently before Lance tugged the helmet off, throwing it away.

They sat there for a moment, eyes wide, gazing at each other.

Lance was not expecting deep purple eyes, framed by dark purple/black hair and lilac skin that looked as soft as silk. Didn’t all Galra have glowing yellow eyes? Not that he was complaining; Keith was gorgeous… Wait, he shouldn’t be thinking that. He’s still the enemy. Clearing his throat, he continued, “Well?”

Blinking in confusion, Keith frowned for a moment, trying to remember what they were talking about. The look Lance was giving him was not helping. Why did his eyes have to be so mesmerizing? “Uhh…” he started, closing his eyes to clear his mind. “My family wouldn’t care if I were to die so why would I want to leave anything for them?”

Keiths answer shocked Lance, why would his family not care? Would his father care if he was killed? He seemed to care that Allura was killed. Lance pulled the sword from Keiths neck, but stayed holding him down, not looking at his face. “But you’re the Prince… why would they not care?” he asked, softly.

“You think being a Prince actually means anything, we are all replaceable. They can have more sons; they can train new soldiers, we are just pawns in their games, so just get on with it already, I have nothing left to lose.” Keith’s voice waivered.

Lance brought his eyes back up to meet Keiths and saw the tears glistening at the corners, threatening to fall. “I… I’ve never thought about it like that before.”

Keith frowned, “Of course you haven’t. You’re too busy trying to impress your father to see the truth. Why don’t you try looking around you instead of following orders blindly? The world isn’t as black and white as they make it out to be. Now are you going to kill me or not. We don’t have much time left before the mist comes back.”

Snapping out of his thoughts, Lance looked up. He hadn’t realized it had gotten so late. The sky was no longer clear. Dark clouds hovered over the edges of the field they were in. He could see the mist making its way back. They needed to leave soon if they were to make it back to the castle in time. 

He wasn’t sure what to do though. He could easily kill Keith now, his father would be proud of him for the achievement, but he didn’t feel like it was the right thing to do. What Keith told him made sense. His father had never been very fatherly. He had never shown Lance any type of love that a parent should. It was all orders and preparation to rule the Kingdom, all of which he could teach his younger siblings. He looked back down at Keith; the man didn’t seem like a blood thirsty killer like he had been told all Galra were. His whole life was laid out before him, and it was a Galra prince that made him realise that.

Frowning, Lance had made his decision. He shifted to stand up, holding his hand out for Keith to grab.

Keith’s eyes widened, “W-what are you doing?” he asked, reaching for Lance’s hand.

“Making my own decisions; I’m tired of trying to live up to my father’s expectations and following his misguided rules. He has never appreciated anything I have accomplished. Besides, you’re much too pretty to kill.” Lance pulled Keith up, winking at him.

Keith frowned, looking away flustered. “I-I don’t understand. This doesn’t change anything. We are still enemies. Your king still needs to pay for killing my brother. Because of him, I have no one!” he tried to pull his hand from Lance’s.

“I’m sorry about your brother. I’ve lost my sister too so I know how you feel. It’s why we’re fighting this war after all.” Lance replied, tightening his grip, “Look, I know we are supposed to be enemies, but please, let me see you again.”

Keith’s eyes widened, looking up into Lances. “We can’t. I have to avenge my brother… I can’t forgive the Alteans for what they’ve taken from me.” A part of him wanted to see Lance again, but he couldn’t just give up on his brother either. Why did Lance have to make things more complicated then they needed to be. Would it really hurt to get to know the man who spared his life though? They would be risking a lot. If they were to get caught, the punishment would be severe, however if he got closer to Lance he may have a better chance at getting his revenge.

Lance moved closer to Keith, taking hold of his other hand, their eyes locking together. “I’m not asking you to forgive my father. I am asking for a chance to get to know you. Don’t you feel the same?” he responded, voice fading out to a whisper.

Removing one of his hands from Lances grip, Keith brought it up, caressing the Alteans cheek. He couldn’t deny he wasn’t feeling something pulling him towards Lance. He had never felt something like this before, he didn’t hesitate to reply this time. “Can you get to the forest on the outskirts of your Kingdom toni-”

The sound of a horn carried throughout the field, making the two of them jump apart, breaking the reverie they had been caught up in.

“We- uh, we need to go.” Keith turned to leave.

“Wait!” Lance pulled Keith back by his hand which he still held onto. “What time tonight?”

“Midnight.”

Lance brought the back of Keiths hand to his lips before placing a gentle kiss on it. “Until tonight then.”

Keith blushed lightly, turning away from Lance’s entrancing stare, he smiled, “Yeah, see you then.” Pulling away from Lances grip he picked up his helmet, sword and cape before running back to his army to lead them back to their Kingdom.

Lance watched Keith run off, smiling to himself. He had no idea what had come over him when he had asked Keith to meet him, but he’d have to deal with that later. Right now he needed to get back to his own Kingdom safely. He grabbed his own items that were spread around him and returned back to his troops.

The Altean soldiers gazed upon their approaching prince. They stood straight and saluted and Lance quickly scanned the men and women who fought alongside him for the kingdom.

“Any casualties?” Lance asked a young surf who ran up to him.

“Ten dead and several wounded, your highness.”

Lance felt something stir in his heart; he felt responsible for it considering that it was he who led them in this battle. He felt disappointed at himself and he started to doubt if he could really be a good king someday. How could that be when lives were lost under his command?

“Gather the dead and prepare a funeral pyre.” Lance inhaled deeply and wore a blank expression to mask his turmoil; he can’t afford to appear weak right now. “Take the wounded back to the healers. Gather the steeds, we’ll be returning now.”

\----

Hunk was already in Lance’s chambers when he walked in, smile spread across his face. He couldn’t stop thinking about Keith. It was like he was under some sort of spell. His chest was filled with a feeling he couldn’t describe, but it felt good, scratch that, it felt amazing! He ignored Hunks questioning gaze and plopped back onto his bed, sighing, not even bothering to take his armor off.

Hunk walked over to the bed and bent over to see Lance’s face, putting his hands on his hips, “Okay, no one comes back from a battle looking like that, spill!”

Lance sat up and gestured Hunk to sit on the edge of the bed with him. Once the other man sat down, Lance became serious, looking straight into Hunks eyes. “You have to promise not to tell anyone, alright?”

“Oh no, I don’t like where this is going already. Lance what did you do?” He was used to Lance’s antics, they usually ended up with them being summoned by the King and having to explain themselves. One time Lance even had to spend a few nights in the dungeon for disobeying orders, but it was never anything too major. This however sounded a lot more serious.

“I haven’t done anything, well nothing too bad yet. Anyway, I need your word. What I’m going to tell you could get me into a lot of trouble, if not killed.” He spoke quietly.

Hunk looked at him, dead-panned, “You know saying that doesn’t make me feel any better about the situation right. In fact, now I am more concerned.”

Lance sighed dramatically, dragging his hands down his face, “Come on man, give me a break. I need your help with this.”

“Okay, okay.” Hunk sighed, he could never say no to Lance, no matter how crazy his ideas were. “Tell me what’s going on.”

“Don’t get angry, but I may have planned to meet up with someone I shouldn’t have anything to do with.” Lance smiled shyly, looking down at his hands before continuing, “I’ve never met anyone as beautiful as he is. He’s got these piercing violet eyes that I could get lost in and this long black hair that frames his face so perfectly. Hunk, I’ve never felt this way before. Just thinking about him makes my heart swell.”

Hunk frowned, “I’m confused. Who is this person? How did you have time to meet him while you were in battle? Why can’t you have anything to do with him?”

Lance looked up to meet Hunks eyes and spoke in a whisper, “He’s the Galra Prince…”

“WHAT?!!! Lance are you insane?!” Hunk screamed, getting up to pace the room. This was worse then he even thought was possible.

Lance got up after him, waving his hands up and down, “Shhhh, Hunk, calm down. It’s not that bad.”

Hunk stopped, and glared at him, “Not that bad, Lance if you get caught you could be killed for being a traitor. You know how much your father hates the Galra for killing Allura, you know, your sister? What the hell are you thinking, sneaking off to see one; and the prince no less? How do you know he’s not just going to kill you while you’re alone? How do you know he’ll even come alone? Where are you even meeting him? The mist prevents anyone crossing to other kingdoms.” He started pacing again.

“Hunk, you need to calm down, getting yourself worked up like this won’t help anything.” Lance watched as his friend glared at him again, coming up to poke him in the chest.

“I’m sorry! Someone has to be the responsible one here and worry about your dumb ass, since you obviously don’t think this is a bad idea!” Hunk was close to ripping his hair out, how could Lance not be worried about this. He was putting his life on the line for some enemy prince he barely knew.

Lance sighed, “I didn’t say it wasn’t a bad idea. I know it’s reckless and I know the risks, but you don’t know him. He was different from what father has taught us. He just wants to avenge his brother’s death. He told me his family doesn’t care if he lives or dies; he’s just being used because he’s of royal blood. Hunk I think my father is wrong about them, I want to try and learn more about them. Maybe I can stop this war without all the bloodshed.” He walked up to his friend and took his hands. “Please, trust me.”

Taking a deep breath, Hunk calmed himself down. “What do you need me to do?”

Smiling, Lance hugged his best friend. He knew this was hard on Hunk, he was always dragging the poor man into his shenanigans, but he had to take this opportunity. “Thanks buddy. I promise I’ll make it up to you someday.”

Hunk returned the hug, “I just don’t want you to get hurt. You are all I have remember. Just promise to be careful and keep your guard up. You don’t know if this Galra has another agenda. For all you know he could be using you to get closer to the King. You said he was after revenge, right?”

Lance pulled back from the hug, he was so lucky to have someone to look out for him. “Don’t worry. I can look after myself. If he tries anything, I’ll be ready. Oh and his name is Keith. Probably safer to use his name rather than referring to him as a Galra.” He laughed. “Now come help me out of this armor, I need to wash and find something to wear for tonight!”

Shaking his head, Hunk began unbuckling the pieces of armor. “So, you never said how exactly you guys are meeting. No one has been able to safely travel through the mist before.”

Frowning, Lance thought for a moment. Keith hadn’t said anything about the mist, just gave him a meeting place and a time. Did that mean he knew a way through the mist? Did all the Galra have a method to safely travel through? If that were the case then they could attack at any time, and yet they hadn’t; still meeting on the field at the same time each day. So that couldn’t be it… he’d have to ask Keith when he saw him later. “I’m not entirely sure. I was only given a time and place. I guess I’ll find out later.” He replied.

“Do you want me to go with you? I don’t like the idea of you going alone.” Hunk walked over to the bath, turning the taps on to fill it.

Laughing lightly, Lance took his shirt off, throwing it on the ground and walked over to the closet to search for something to wear. “No Hunk, I’ll be fine. I promise nothing is going to happen. Now help me pick something to wear. I need to hide my identity as the prince but I still need to look fabulous.”

\---

On the other side of the forest, in the Galra Castle, Keith alone sat in his chambers. In his hand he held a small vial with a silver chain attached, that contained two slivers of crystal. One was a deep magenta, the other a beautiful cerulean blue. Apart from some old letters, this was all he had left of his brother. He cherished it more than anything else in his life. He smiled sadly down at it, “I don’t know what came over me brother. No one has ever had that effect on me, what is it that makes Lance so special? He’s so cocky and rude and has no idea how the real world works. He’s been sheltered his whole life; trained to follow orders without question, brainwashed into thinking we are the only evil in this world. I hate people like him. Simple minded idiots who can’t think for themselves… and yet, he could have killed me today, but didn’t.”

He sighed, laying back on his bed, pulling the vial close to his heart. “Why does my heart race when I think about him? Every time I close my eyes I see his face, those sharp but caring eyes; the warm glow of his sun-kissed skin, the gentle touch of his lips- arrrrg!” Keith sat up, “What is wrong with me? I wish you were here with me right now, then maybe you could help me figure out this strangeness within me.” Keith paused and his grip tightened around the vial. “I miss you every day.”

Looking out the window, he saw that it was now dark outside. It would take him a few hours to sneak out and get through the forest so he got up and walked over to his closet, taking out his deep blue hooded cloak. “Well, I guess there’s no going back now.” He clipped the cloak up, pulling the hood over his head making sure to secure the vial around his neck and tucking it under his shirt, “Wish me luck, Shiro.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yays! First chapter is done! Please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts!
> 
> You can also come find me on Tumblr @forsakenangel88 I'd love to talk Klance with anyone!
> 
> Till next chapter <3


	2. Truth and Discovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith and Lance bond and discover some hard truths.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for those who commented and left kudos! I really appreciate it <3 I hope you all enjoy chapter 2, things start to get a little more serious! This chapter in nearly double the size of the first one XD
> 
> I want to thank my awesome friends @lightoflunaris and @sir-schneeflocke for helping me edit and coming up with ideas for this AU. I love you guys <3

Chapter 2

Lance was feeling anxious as he stood on the outskirts of his kingdom, alone. He had already been waiting for some time now and as every minute past he could feel his uneasiness grow. Sure he had arrived early… maybe too early, but he was eager to see Keith again and had hoped the Galra Prince had been feeling the same. Sighing, he rubbed his hands together, both to warm them up in the cool late autumn breeze and to keep them busy.

Maybe Hunk was right. He knew nothing about Keith, who knew if he would even show up. Perhaps he said all that stuff to make him feel sorry for the guy and let him go. He’s probably at his castle right now, laughing and saying how pathetic the Altean Prince was. Lance shook his head to rid himself of those thoughts. No, he had seen the sincere look in Keith’s eyes. He’ll be here; he just needed to be patient. 

Looking up, he saw that the moon was full tonight, casting its heavenly benevolent glow upon the world. Smiling, Lance took a deep breath. He had always loved looking up at the night sky; it brought him a sense of tranquility and it made him feel like it the world was truly peaceful; no war, no bloodshed, no senseless death. 

He was so lost in thought; he didn’t realise that he was no longer alone when someone stepped up behind him, one of their hands covered his mouth to prevent him from screaming. His eyes widened as a deep familiar voice whispered into his right ear.

“You should be more aware of your surroundings especially standing out here alone.” Keith scowled as he removed his hand, stepping back, Lance turned to face him, hand on his pounding chest. “You’re lucky it was only me. Don’t they teach you that in your training, I mean it’s practically common sense.” He continued, crossing his arms. 

There were all types of creatures that hunted at night; a lot of them lived in the very forest they were currently standing next to. Did Lance seriously have no knowledge of what lived outside the safety of his kingdoms walls, or was he just stupid enough to let his guard down, while waiting for an enemy Prince he had just met? Keith was beginning to wonder why he had bothered to come tonight.

Lance blushed slighting at being caught in such a vulnerable state. He hadn’t meant to get lost in thought; staring at the moon just has that effect on him. “I knew it was you.” He lied, trying to keep his voice firm, hoping Keith would fall for it.

Keith raised an eyebrow, staring at Lance, “Uh-huh, and that’s why you became rigid and started to breathe erratically like you were panicking when I came up behind you. Besides, how did you know I wouldn’t just come here to kill you? I am the enemy after all.” His voice held no emotion as he spoke and Lance winced at Keith’s blunt tone.

“I knew you wouldn’t. You have nothing to gain from killing me, well not yet at least. You are after my father after all and I am the easiest way to get to him.” Lance smiled, “I was worried you wouldn’t show up though. I’m glad you decided to come.”

Keith was surprised, but tried not to show it. Lance wasn’t as dumb as he seemed, he had already figured out his plan, he’d have to be more careful in case Lance decided to try anything. “To be honest I’m not sure why I did.” He walked away towards the entrance of the forest before turning to look at Lance, “I was the one to invite you and I do owe you my life… I guess I didn’t want to be an ass and stand you up.”

Lance chuckled, “Well thanks, I appreciate that. How did you get here though? No one has been able to make it through the mist before?”

Keith smirked, “That is my little secret.” he held out his hand to Lance, “Come on, it’s not safe for us to be out in the open, I have a place we can go.”

Looking down at the extended hand before glancing back up to Keith eyes, which were partly covered by his cloak, Lance teased, “You’re not going to take me some place to kill me right?”

Keith rolled his eyes, getting irritated, “If I was going to kill you I would have done so already. You were the one who said you wanted to get to know me and we can’t stay here. If you don’t want to come, I will just go home.” He snapped angrily.

Lance grabbed Keith’s hand as he went to pull away, “No! No. Sorry, it was just a joke dude; do you guys not have jokes in your kingdom or something?” Jeez, this guy was super uptight.

Keith frowned, looking away from Lance. “We do. I just… I’m not used to people joking around with me. Sorry, I shouldn’t have snapped at you.” It had been a while since anyone had shown him any kindness, not since his brother had died. He felt a hollow feeling in his chest as his thoughts drifted back to his brother.

Smiling, Lance moved closer and put his arm around Keith’s shoulders, feeling the slightly shorter male tense under his arm. “Don’t worry about it. Now show me this secret hideaway you have.”

\---

They walked for what seemed liked forever. Keith had told Lance that he had to keep a hold of his hand to be able to walk through the mist safely, though he still wouldn’t tell Lance how he was able to do so. The forest was dark, the tree canopies blocking any moonlight from seeping through. Lance had never been through the forest on his own before, let alone in the dark. He couldn’t make anything out in the darkness and if he was being honest with himself, he was feeling a little scared, though he would never admit it out loud and especially not in front of Keith. Speaking of said Galra; he seemed to know exactly where he was going. Was he able to see in the dark? Or did he just come through here enough to know where everything was?

Lance decided to ask. “Do you know where you’re going, because I can’t see anything?”

“Shhh, not so loud, you don’t want to draw attention to the creatures that dwell here at night.” Keith whispered harshly, not answering the question; he tugged Lance quickly around a large tree. “It’s just up ahead.”

Looking past Keith, Lance saw what looked like a small dwelling in the shadows. As they came up to the building, he could see it was old and run down. Wooden planks were coming lose; some had fallen off completely. Moss and vines grew over the roof and walls, running along the cracks in the timber. Lance wondered how Keith had managed to find such a secluded place. They were literally in the middle of no-where in a forest that was covered by a poisoned mist for most of the day.

Keeping Lance’s hand in his own, Keith used his other to knock on the door 5 times in a pattern.  
Lance wondered if someone lived here as the door mysteriously opened after a few moments.

“Come on, we’ll be safe inside.” Keith pulled Lance inside, closing the door before letting go of his hand, he noticed the worried look on Lance’s face. “Don’t worry. There is an enchantment on this place, the mist can’t penetrate the barrier, so as long as the door is closed you’ll be fine.” He explained, walking over to some candles and lighting them.

Lance was in shock. He had never seen an enchantment like this before. He didn’t know they even still existed. Didn’t all magic die out when the mist took over? This shouldn’t still be possible.

Looking around, he noticed that it was much nicer inside. It was obvious someone looked after the place. There was a small fireplace on the left wall, a little 2 seater couch, if you could call it that, was sitting in front of that. On the back wall, there was an old stove and some small tables that were being used as benches. Then on the right-hand side there was a rusted, gold metal bed; it didn’t look safe enough to sleep on, but there were clean pillows and blankets, so someone obviously still used it. No one else was here though.

“I know it’s not up to your standards, but no one will find us here.” Keith’s voice brought Lance out of his wonderment.

He knew he should be offended by Keith’s comment, but he was too amazed to care. “How did you find this place? How is the magic here still working? This is incredible, thank you for showing this to me!” He smiled, voice filled with excitement as he looked over to Keith. This place must have meant something important to Keith for him to say no one would find them here. Lance felt himself feel a little giddy at the thought of Keith sharing his special place with him. He knew Keith was still being cautious around him, which was understandable; he was honored that Keith trusted him enough to bring him here.

Keith got up from lighting the fire place and took his cloak off, hanging it on one of the hooks by the door. “My brother found this place. He used to bring me here when I was a child, when our family used to get too much.” He sat down on the chair and motioned Lance to join him. “This was our hideout. I’ve never brought anyone-” he stopped, noticing that Lance was just staring at him.

Lance was only half paying attention to what Keith was saying, too busy staring- or trying not to stare- at the man in front of him. He had only ever seen Keith in his full set of armor and had thought he looked attractive then; seeing him now in casual wear was something Lance had not prepared for. Keith wore a simple crimson three quarter sleeved shirt, which had a wide neckline, exposing his collarbones and some basic black pants. The clothes themselves were nothing special, but Keith made them look outstanding, or did they make Keith look outstanding. Lance wasn’t sure anymore. Looking up, he realized Keith was giving him a strange look and he blushed, being caught checking him out.

Lance cleared his throat, unbuckling his own cloak and hanging it next to Keith’s before taking the spot next to him on the seat. He wondered if Keith liked what he was wearing. He had spent quite a bit of time picking something out. The final decision being a navy blue long sleeved shirt, which had a few buttons at the top -which he had left unbuttoned- and like Keith, some simple black pants. Lance tried to see any reaction from Keith, but at the moment he was a blank slate, staring into the fire in front of them, not giving any emotions away. He sighed, why did Keith have to be so hard to read?

They sat in silence for a while, neither of them knowing what to say. At least they were warm in front of the fireplace. For something so small, it still provided a lot of heat, to which Lance was thankful for. The wind had picked up on the way to the cabin, blowing right through his cloak and chilling him to the bone. This was definitely a welcomed change.

Lance glanced over at Keith. Wow this got awkward fast, he really needed to say something. “So- uh, tell me about yourself.”

Keith jumped a little, startled out of his thoughts. He looked over at Lance, face still expressionless. “There’s not much to tell really. I’m a Galra prince who has been the commander of the Galra army for just over 5 years now.” He replied vacantly, his tone distant.

Lance turned to face him, pulling his knee up across the chair between them, frowning, “No, that’s not what I meant. I know what you are, but that doesn’t tell me who you are as a person. What do you like doing? Where do you hang out? What are your friends like? That sort of stuff.” he smiled, encouraging Keith to open up.

Keith looked back down at the fireplace, the flickering light spreading a soft glow across his features, his eyes softening.

Lance made a mental note of how pretty Keith’s features were in the light. The urge to reach out and caress Keith’s cheek was strong, but he pushed the feeling down and waited for Keith to reply.

“Oh… I don’t really know. I mean I like sword fighting and training… I guess I like to read when I’m not doing that. This place is where I hang out the most when I’m not at the castle or on the battlefield. I-it reminds me of my brother…” he responds softly, voice fading out.

Lance was happy to be finally getting some sort of emotional response, but the sadness in Keith’s voice made his heart twist painfully. “You two sound pretty close.” He replied gently.

“Yeah, he was the only one who treated me like I was worth something more than a tool. Our father never treated me as equal to his other children. I’m only half Galra; I don’t know who my mother is; but Shiro, he was always there for me, despite him being a pureblood.” Keith smiled gently, glancing back over at Lance. “We used to get into so much trouble. We were always pulling pranks on the guards and even our siblings. He was also the one who taught me how to fight.”

His smile fell as he continued, “When he died, our father came down hard on me. Without Shiro, I wasn’t able to get any leniency. I was forced to train with everyone else, even the most experienced soldiers; no one went easy on me because I was just a kid. You have to be strong to survive, that is what being a Galra means. So I spent all my free time training, becoming the best swordsman our kingdom had ever seen. I proved to my father that I was worthy and for once I had made my father proud and he so used me to win him many battles.”

Lance had been silent the whole time, just watching as Keith spilled his heart out about his life. When he had asked Keith to tell him about himself, he hadn’t expected the man to completely open up to him, he was pleased of course, it meant he trusted Lance on some level, but at the same time, it sounded like Keith had had such a hard life and yet he was still fighting on. Lance couldn’t help but feel a strong sense of admiration. That wasn’t the only feeling he could feel filling his heart; how could he feel so much for a man he had just met? 

Keith covered his face with his hands, sighing in frustration. “Ah, I’m sorry, I don’t know why I told you all that. I’m sure you didn’t want to hear my sob story of a life.” He suddenly felt vulnerable and exposed. Why was talking to Lance so easy? He has never told anyone anything about his life before, yet here he was letting it all out to someone he knows next to nothing about. Worry started to build in his chest, making him feel anxious and fidgety.

Lance noticed the change in Keith’s demeanor. “Hey,” he spoke softly as he took Keith’s hands from his face, “It’s alright. I’m glad you feel comfortable enough to open up to me. I know it must have been difficult for you.” He brushed the stray bangs from Keith’s eyes, caressing his cheek gently, his skin felt soft under Lance’s fingertips. “I’m so sorry you’ve had to deal with so much alone.” He whispered.

Leaning into the warmth of Lance’s touch, Keith’s eyes met Lance’s. He had never seen so much emotion directed at himself before; that overwhelming feeling began to fill his heart again, replacing the anxiety and causing his breath to catch in his throat. As he stared into the blue depths, he could feel himself leaning forward, but felt he had no control over it. His heart pounded in his chest, and it was currently the only thing he could hear; he wondered if Lance could hear it too. If he could, he made no notion of it as he too leaned forward, his eyes slipping shut as their lips met.

The kiss was slow and hesitant to begin with. Keith shifted on the couch so he was facing Lance, allowing him to press deeper into the kiss; his hand resting on the Alteans forearm. Lance’s hand moved to the back of Keith’s head; long fingers tangling themselves in his hair at the base of his neck, sending a shiver down Keith’s spine.

Heat started to radiate against Keith’s chest before a blinding light filled the room. Snapping their eyes open, they both jumped back, startled. 

“What the hell?!” Lance screamed frantically, jumping from the couch, a light blush covering his cheeks.

Keith’s eyes widened as he pulled the chain around his neck, bringing the vial from under his shirt. The crystals were glowing, radiating a bright blue and red; they seemed to be humming in their glass prison. “Uh- they’ve never done that before?”

Lance came over as the light began to dim, inspecting the vial in Keith’s hand. “Whoa! Where did you get that?” He frowned, “That’s a piece of the Altean crystal! How did you get part of our crystal?” he reached out to touch the vial.

Keith pulled it away from his grasp, gripping it tightly to his chest. “No! Don’t touch it.” He growled, “This is all I have left of my brother. He gave it to me the day he died. I didn’t know the blue piece was Altean. I don’t know where he got it from or why he had it. Please don’t take it from me.” He stepped back, placing the couch between him and Lance.

Realizing he had upset Keith, Lance took a deep breath to calm himself, he walked slowly around the couch toward Keith, his hands raised in defense to show Keith he meant no harm. 

“I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to react like that. I was just shocked to see it. I promise I won’t take it from you.” He came up and placed his hands on Keith’s shoulders, feeling him tense and trying to pull away from his hold. He loosened his grip, letting Keith know he was free to move away if he wanted to. “Come on, let sit back down and try and figure this out.”

Nodding gently, Keith allowed Lance to take him back to the couch. He remained silent however, still gripping the vial close as they sat down.

They sat in silence again. Lance was watching Keith as he stared into the fire, he didn’t say anything for a few minutes, allowing Keith to calm down before he started asking questions.  
Lance was beyond confused; he didn’t know the crystals could have shards. Did his father know about this? And how did Keith’s brother end up with one? Were they after the main crystal? The Altean crystal was well known throughout the continent. It had the power to heal and cast protective barriers. It was also the source of Altean magic, which no one had been able to use since the crystal had lost most of its power nearly 10 years ago.

Lance shifted his gaze from Keith to look around the inside of the cabin. Did an Altean cast the barrier that protected this place? He didn’t understand how it could be still up after all these years. Frowning, he looked back at Keith. He wasn’t going to get any answers by thinking about it. “Keith, how long have you had the crystals? Did your brother tell you anything about them?”  
He asked softly, hoping not to come across as too insensitive. He needed Keith to open up to him again but only if he allowed it. Lance wanted to build trust between them and that wasn’t going to happen by force; if Keith didn’t want to, Lance will respect that.

Keith blinked, coming out of his thoughts, but still continued to stare into the fire, his eyes emotionless. “I-it’s been almost 10 years now. I was only 9 or 10; it was before the kingdoms were covered in mist. Shiro came to me one night; told me that we were going to leave the Galra Empire and to meet him here; he just had to go find someone who was going to be coming with us. He handed me this, and said it would keep me safe. I made it here safely, but they never showed…” he voice faded out as he explained.

“Wait, wait, wait… Your brother died nearly 10 years ago! That’s when my sister was killed as well!” Lance exclaimed. Was it possible? “Keith, did your brother tell you a name, who was the person he was supposed to meet?” He moved closer, his heart pounding in his chest.

Keith looked up at Lance, and frowned, trying to remember. “Uh… Al- something I think… I can’t remember. I never got to meet her.”

Lance’s eyes widened, “Allura?! It must have been.” He stood up and started pacing. Keith watched him as he continued. “She just disappeared one night. We didn’t know what happened to her. Our father told us later that she was found dead and blamed the Galra for it. We went to war the next day and that was the time when the mist took over!” He took a breath after his quick recollection.

Lance stopped and looked straight at Keith. “It all makes sense; Allura was a natural magic caster, her protection spells were always the strongest. She must have been the one to enchant this cabin and those crystals you have. That’s why you can walk through the mist safely!”

Keith looked down at the vial in his hands. He never understood how this would keep him safe; Shiro had never told him it had a spell on it. So that’s why he gave it to Keith… then again, if he didn’t, maybe Shiro would still be alive today. He gripped the vial tightly, scrunching his eyes closed for a moment. Did he know they would be in danger? He snapped his eyes open and glared at Lance, “Why would Allura need to use a protection spell on this? Why did they feel like they had to run? Did they know they would be in danger- that they would be killed?” Keith asked, as he stood up, his voice shaking. So many questions plagued his mind and it frustrated him that he was left blind to the truth for so long.

Lance was slightly taken back from Keith’s change in mood, sensing the hostility now coming from the other man. He raised his hands up in defense- he seemed to be doing that a lot tonight- “Hey, calm down. I know less than you do. Allura was super secretive for months leading up until her death. Any info I have is only what my father told us and I’m beginning to realize he is not the most trustworthy source.” He walked up to Keith, seeing the other man become less rigid, but still scowling. “I’m not your enemy, you can trust me.” He cupped Keith’s hands which still clutched the vial. “We will figure this out together alright.” His voice was soft, trying to reassure Keith that he wanted to help. 

Keith sighed, he knew none of this was Lances fault, he felt so lost and frustrated that he didn’t have all the answers, it made him lash out. He wanted to trust Lance, the man had done nothing but be kind and understanding, however he still knew very little about him which meant he still felt he had to be cautious just in case. Yawning, he suddenly felt really tired; he nodded to show Lance he was listening.

Lance smiled; Keith was adorable when he was tired. “Okay, let’s get some rest and we’ll try to find out what happened tomorrow.” He continued, letting go of Keith’s hands.

Keith nodded again, “Alright.” He replied, making his way over to the old bed. He sat down on the edge before realizing Lance hadn’t followed him. He glanced back over to where Lance was still standing near the fireplace. “You- uh, you can sleep here if you like. The chair isn’t exactly comfortable to lie on.”

Lance scratched the back of his neck, feeling a little nervous. “Are you sure? I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

Keith smiled slightly, “Yeah, we’ve both had a long day. Its fine, come.” He patted the other side of the bed, signaling Lance to sit.

Lance smiled back, before kicking off his boots and crawling onto his side of the bed.

By the time he was on the bed, Keith was already laying on his side, facing the middle. He looked dead tired, eyes barely able to stay open. “Thank you.” He whispered.

“For what?” Lance asked confused.

Keith sighed contently; closing his eyes as sleep began to take over, “Being so nice to me.”

A bubble of happiness swelled in Lance’s heart. He gently took one of Keith’s hands, entwining their fingers and smiled, “You’re welcome.” He whispered back as he closed his eyes.  
As sleep took a hold of them, the crystals began to glow softly again, engulfing them.

\----

The day was clear, the sun shining bright, high in the sky. A dark skinned woman with long wavy, silvery white hair sat near a lake, gazing out across the crystal water. Tears filled her aqua blue eyes, threatening to fall.

“Allura?” A Galra man called, coming up behind her, “What’s wrong, my love?”

Allura wiped her eyes on her sleeve, before standing to face the man, a small smile gracing her lips, “Nothing is wrong Shiro, just lost in thought.”

Shiro came up her, caressing her cheek, rubbing his purple thumb under her eye to remove the excess tears. “You were crying. Please tell me what is troubling you.”

Allura placed her hand over his, leaning into his touch. Her other hand going to her stomach, “I’m pregnant” she replied, smiling genuinely this time.

Shiro’s eyes widened. He stared at her and blinked twice before he shook his head and frowned.

“Pardon, my love?” Shiro asked, looking sincerely confused the first time.

“I said, I am with child, dear.” Allura laughed softly. “I think it’s about time you cleaned those adorable ears of yours.”

The words finally sunk into Shiro’s head and he felt his heart speed up in his chest and burst with happiness. “We’ll be parents?!”

Allura nodded in confirmation. “We’ll be parents.”

Smiling widely and laughing, he picked her up and spun her around, before bringing her to his chest in a tight embrace. “This is wonderful! I’m so happy…” he pulled her back to look at her face and frowned slightly, “but you were crying. Doesn’t this please you?”

Allura closed her eyes and shook her head slightly, “I am happy, I want nothing more than to have this baby with you…” she dropped her gaze, frowning sadly, “My father will not approve of this. You know how he distrusts the Galra, if he found out, I’m afraid of what he might do to you and we both know how your father feels about half breeds.” Shiro had told her about his brother Keith and how poorly he was treated by the King. She didn’t understand how anyone could be so cruel to their own child. One story stuck with her and it repeated in her mind the Shiro had told her before;

It was a bright and cloudless day. Keith was in the castle courtyard; practicing some of the sword techniques he had learnt, on his own, when several older Galra trainees walked up to him.

“Look what we have here boys, the pathetic half breed thinks he can become one of us.” The biggest Galra boy sneered.

The group laughed with him.

Keith glared up at the bully, “I’m still Galra, and I can be just as strong as you. Just you wait. One day I’ll beat all of you!” he yelled.

“You, beat me?” The bully laughed, loud and obnoxiously. “You will never defeat us. You are nothing but a worthless, pitiful piece of trash and if you didn’t have royal blood running through your veins, you’d be tossed out with the garbage. No one wants you here; we are all just waiting for the day that you get killed in battle.” He walked up to Keith and kicked the sword from his hands effortlessly. “How can you expect to defeat me if you can’t even hold onto your sword?”

Keith looked down, frowning as he clenched his fist. It wasn’t his fault that he was weak. He was still a child. He was still learning.

“You gonna cry now, you baby?” The bully shoved Keith, trying to provoke him.

Tears stung at the corners of his eyes but he refused to let them fall here, in front of these bullies. He tightened his fist, anger raging, and swung, hitting the guy in the jaw.

The bully didn’t even flinch. Keith’s eyes widened as he realized what he had done, pulling his arm away and trying to move back, but the older boy grabbed his arm, twisting him around and locking it behind his back roughly. Keith cried out in pain.

“How dare you strike me! You’ll pay for that.” He turned Keith around to face the other Galra who were still standing behind their leader. “Let’s teach this half breed a lesson, boys” He said, pushing Keith into the middle of the group.

They all started to kick and punch Keith. He raised his armed to try and protect his head, crouching into a ball on the ground. The bullies laughed and joked with each other as they continued their onslaught.

“What is going on here?” A voice boomed out across the courtyard.

All the boys looked up, seeing their King and Shiro looking down from the walkway. They instantly straightened and bowed.

The eldest spoke up, “We were just teaching Keith a lesson your majesty.” He moved to the side, revealing Keith crumpled form on the ground behind them.

“Keith!” Shiro ran up to the boy, pushing past the bullies and pulled Keith into his lap.

The king rolled his eyes, unimpressed. This wasn’t the first time this had happened. “Shiro tend to his wounds. He won’t be able to train tomorrow in his condition.” He turned his attention to the other boys, “As for you, don’t you have better things to do then fight a weakling like him? Go train somewhere else.” With that he walked off, leaving Keith and Shiro in the courtyard.  
Shiro cradled Keith to his chest, taking him back to his room.

“Shiro, will I ever be strong?” Keith whispered, his lip swollen and bleeding.

Shiro placed Keith on the bed and went to get the medical supplies. “You will be one day. You just need to keep practicing.” He dabbed antiseptic at the cuts on the boys face, making him hiss.

“But I want to be strong now. I’m tired of everyone picking on me; I want to be able to fight back. I want to show them I can be just as strong as them even though I’m only half Galra.” He replied, frowning and wincing as Shiro patched him up.

Shiro smiled, putting the swabs down on the bed beside them. “Alright then, how about I give you some private lessons? You’ll become so strong that they won’t even want to come near you. You’ll be the best swordsman the Galra Empire has ever seen.

Keith’s eyes widened as he smiled up at Shiro. “Even stronger than you?”

He laughed, ruffling Keith’s hair affectionately, “Yeah kid, even stronger than me.”

Keith laughed and jumped onto Shiro’s chest, wrapping his small arms around Shiro’s broad shoulders, “Thank you Shiro.”

\--

Shiro cupped her face, snapping her out of her memories and brought her eyes to meet his, “Then let’s leave. There is nothing keeping us here. As long as we are together, that’s all that matters to me.” His voice filled with determination. He hated to see Allura upset and he would do anything in his power to protect her and their unborn child.

“What about Keith? We can’t leave him with that monster. He’d probably be interrogated for information since you are the only person close to him. I can’t bear to think about what they’d do to the poor boy.” Allura questioned, concerned. She had never met Keith, but Shiro spoke of him often, so it felt like she already knew him.

“Keith will be coming with us. I would never leave him behind like that. We will leave tonight, I will tell Keith to meet us at the cabin. Meet me here at sundown, alright?” Shiro leaned in, gently kissing Allura’s forehead.

Allura smiled, eyes beaming. “Alright, I shall be here.” She pulled something out of her pocket, placing it in Shiro’s hand. “Here, I’ve placed the two slivers of crystal we had in this vial and protected it with a spell. It will keep whoever is holding it safe from any harm. Please give it to Keith; it will protect him until we can all be together.”

Shiro smiled softly at her; “You are so kind; I love you so much.” he took the vial and placed it in his pocket to keep it safe.

Allura leant in to place a gentle kiss on his lips, “I love you too. I will see you tonight.”

\---

Dark clouds settled across the night sky. Thunder rumbled and lightning danced across them, enlightening the world below.

Shiro ran. He was running as fast as he could to get to the lake, which he was supposed to be at hours ago. He had been caught leaving the castle and questioned on his recent whereabouts. Having no choice, he had to return to the castle and do some errands before attempting to sneak out again, unnoticed. He had already sent Keith on his way with the vial Allura had given him, so he knew he was safe, but now he was worried about Allura.

Rain started to fall from the sky drenching Shiro’s cloak; it became wet and heavy, sticking to his skin as he continued to sprint through the forest. A few minutes later, he arrived at the clearing that lead to the lake. Smiling, he slowed, seeing Alluras figure waiting by the water, like she had been earlier that day. He sighed happily, knowing she was still safe.

Hearing the sound of footsteps, Allura turned her head, smiling as she saw Shiro walking up to her. Her smile fell though as she noticed someone behind him, her eyes widening, “Shiro!”

Shiro turned around quickly, as an arrow whizzed past him, barely missing him.

The next thing he heard was Allura gasping in pain. His eyes widened as he looked back over at her. The arrow had penetrated her stomach, blood seeping through her dress as she fell down to her knees, clutching the wound. “ALLURA!” he screamed, running up to her, he grabbed her as she fell into his arms, her eyes wide in shock and pain. “No, no, no. Come on, sweetheart, stay with me please.” He caressed her face, tears pooling from his eyes, mixing with the rain that dripped down his face.

Allura’s lips trembled as she gasped in pain, her body slightly convulsing. “Sh-Shi...ro.” tears began to fall from the corners of her eyes, “I-I’m sor-“

Shiro shook his head, “Shhh, it’s alright my love, we’ll be – arhhh” he screamed out in pain, slumping over Allura. He grimaced, looking back to see an arrow sticking out of his back and the hooded figure walking up to them.

The figure pulled down his hood, revealing that he was a Galra soldier. The soldier hovered over where Shiro had fallen with Allura and when lightning flashed in the stormy sky, his face was illuminated; twisted with a sadistic smirk. “Regards from the King, you traitor, now you can die with your Altean bitch.” He said coldly as he lifted his boot and pressed it against the back of Shiro’s head, pinning him painfully on the wet dirt. He pulled another arrow from his quiver and aimed straight for fallen prince’s head. 

“Vrepit Sa, your highness.” Then he released the arrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think! I'm currently working on chapter 3, but it's going to be a long one! Hopefully I will have it up next week :)
> 
> Again thank you for anyone who kudos and comments :)
> 
> You can come find me on tumblr @forsakenangel88


	3. Consequences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith and Lance deal with their new found discovery, it just doesn't work out well for one of them...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!! Back with chapter 3! This was supposed to be the last chapter but it was growing too long so I decided to split it into 2. 
> 
> Again thank you to those who leave kudos and comments, they really inspire me to continue and I love hearing your thoughts and feedback <3
> 
> Also thank you @lightoflunaris for being my beta again! I really appreciate your help <3

Chapter 3

Keith and Lance woke with a start, both panting heavily. 

Lance sat up first, pressing his hand to his chest, his heart pounding a million miles. He moved his hand to his head, brushing his hair from his sweat covered forehead; he felt tears stinging in the corners of his eyes. What the hell did he just see? Was that a dream? It felt so real, like he was there but only as a spectator, all he could do was watch the events unfold. He swallowed the lump in his throat, frowning, he turned to look at Keith.

Keith wasn’t doing much better. He stared up at the ceiling in shock, his heart also pounding hard against his chest. His hands clenched the sheets at his sides, his knuckles turning white. Tears streamed down his face, but he made no movement to wipe them away. His breathing was erratic, like he was having a panic attack. 

Lance was worried. Whatever it was he had seen, Keith had seen too; they had just witnessed the horrific deaths of their older siblings and their unborn niece or nephew. Lance’s hands were shaking as he took some deep breaths to try and compose himself. He wiped the tears from his eyes after a few minutes and took one of Keith’s hands in his own, unclenching it from the sheet. “Keith?” he whispered, trying to get the other males attention without scaring him. 

Keith blinked, hearing his name, pulling him from his thoughts. He didn’t say anything, but sat up with a frown; his breathing had slowed down to its normal rate but he was still crying.

Lance reached over and pulled Keith to his chest, wrapping his arms around him in a strong embrace; his heart tightening. He wasn’t sure what he could say to Keith. Nothing would make the situation any less painful, but still, be wanted to be there for him. 

As soon as Lance’s arms wrapped around him, Keith pressed his face into the crook of his neck, tears spilling out, soaking into the fabric. His body shook as he wept, hands clinging to the back of Lances shirt. 

Lances tears began to fall again, seeing Keith so upset. He couldn’t imagine how Keith was feeling right now. Keith could have had a much happier life living with Allura and Shiro. Allura had always been such a kind and caring person. It didn’t surprise him that she would have wanted to take Keith in after knowing what he had gone through; Shiro seemed just as caring. They had done nothing to deserve their untimely end. He scrunched his eyes closed and rested his head against Keith’s hair, rubbing his back, trying to calm the other male down. This was totally messed up. Why had they been shown that?

They sat like that for nearly an hour. Keith had stopped crying a little while ago, but hadn’t moved from his place, pressed up against Lance’s chest as Lance continued to rub circles on his back, soothingly. 

Lance had thought Keith had cried himself to sleep, when he suddenly pulled away, frowning. “Keith? Are you alright?” he asked quietly.

Keith moved to stand up, still feeling exhausted; he stumbled off the bed, feet entangled with the sheets. Huffing angrily, he ripped the sheets from his feet, standing to put his boots on. “He’s going to pay.” He growled.

Lance shot up, coming around to grab Keith’s shoulders, stopping him from putting on his second boot. “Hey, what are you doing? Don’t be reckless.”

Keith glared at Lance, “Let go of me.” He shoved Lance’s hands away, before pulling on his other boot and stood up. “He killed Shiro, Lance, he killed Allura; he took everything from me that night. I won’t let him get away with this. He lied to me and treated me like shit for years. I am going to kill him and if you’re not going to help me, get out of my way!” he shouted.

Lance stood in front of the door, preventing Keith from exiting, glaring back. “Don’t be an idiot! I’m not saying he doesn’t deserve to die, Allura was my sister; you aren’t the only one who has lost someone here! What he did to them and to you was despicable and I hate him for hurting people I care about, but we can’t just run in there without some sort of plan.” His face softened slightly, walking up to Keith. “Please, don’t push me away. You aren’t alone anymore. I will help you, I promise, but right now we are both tired and upset; we wouldn’t be able to fight to our full potential. Let’s just rest for tonight and come up with a plan in the morning when we have clear minds.”

Keith pouted, still frowning. He didn’t pull away this time as Lance guided him back towards the bed. He didn’t understand how Lance could be so calm about it. Didn’t he want to get revenge for his sister? Keith wanted to hurt someone right now. He could feel the anger just bubbling away, needing to be released, but it was clear Lance wasn’t going to let him go without a fight and he didn’t want to waste his energy fighting Lance. The Galra King was powerful and he was surrounded by guards at all hours of the day, it wouldn’t be easy to take him down. Huffing, he sat back on the bed, glaring at Lance as the man took his boots off.

Lance sighed, he knew Keith was angry at him for making him wait, but he also knew they wouldn’t stand a chance if they just rushed in. He suddenly felt really guilty. Usually it was him rushing in without a plan, Hunk being dragged along for the ride. His chest tightened, he hadn’t even thought about Hunk. The guy was probably freaking out, worried he had been killed or something. He hoped Hunk wouldn’t go tell his father about Keith, they had enough to deal with, with the Galra King; they didn’t need the Altean King marching on Galra territory. 

Getting back onto the bed next to Keith, he threw his arm over Keith’s chest and frowned at his new problem. He’d have to go back home soon and let Hunk know he was alright and fill him in on what they’d found out. Only problem was, he needed Keith to travel through the mist and he doubted Keith would let him go home when he was so hell bent on killing his own father. Closing his eyes, he hoped Keith would be more reasonable in the morning and they could take a small detour. 

Keith kept quiet as they got back into bed. He stiffened as Lance’s arm came across his chest and frowned slightly, but didn’t move. Lance had been abnormally quiet; however he didn’t want to question it. He just wanted Lance to go to sleep so he could sneak out without him stopping him. Keith took a deep breath and just waited until he was sure Lance was asleep, the scene of his brother dying playing on repeat in his head, fueling his anger.

Half an hour later, Lance was snoring quietly in his ear. Slowly he shifted out of Lance’s embrace and got off the bed. He turned around to make sure Lance was still asleep, before pulling on his boots again, as quickly and silently as he could. Walking over to the door, he glanced over to the sleeping man, a sudden feeling of guilt ran through his heart, he knew there was a good chance this would be the last time he saw Lance, there was no chance he was getting out of the next battle unscathed and that thought filled him with dread. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he frowned, trying to push the feeling aside, “I’m sorry.” He whispered, sneaking out the door and out into the night. 

\----

The trek back to the Galra castle was uneventful. Keith had made the journey several times and knew all the shortcuts and how to avoid the deadly creatures that lurked in the night. When he got back to the castle however, he noticed that there were no guards at the main gate. Frowning, he took his secret path around the side of the castle and snuck back in through the dungeons and store rooms. 

Once safely inside, he marched through the main halls, like he hadn’t left at all. As he was making his way to the king’s chambers he saw one of the servants walking quickly toward him, head down to avoid eye contact. “Why are there no guards in the main hall? Where is everyone?” Keith demanded. 

The servant stopped walking, gaze lifted to look up at Keith before quickly dropping back to the ground. “All the guards are in the Great Hall, your highness. The King called everyone in about an hour ago. No one has left the room since.” They replied quietly.

Keith frowned, crossing his arms, slightly confused. How was he supposed to kill the king if he was surrounded by every Galra guard and soldier? He huffed in frustration, “Why did he do that? What’s going on?”

The servant nervously started to hop from one foot to the other, like they were fighting the urge to run away. “You were missing, my lord, no one could find you. The King is organizing a search party to look for you. Would you like me to go let them know you have returned, your highness?”

This news severely confused Keith. Since when had the King ever cared if he was missing? He disappeared all the time. Why would he chose now to start looking for him? It had only been half a night. No one should have even come to check on him in his room until morning. “No, it’s alright, I will go myself. Something isn’t right here and I’m going to find out what he’s up to.” He turned to leave, but stopped, looking back at the frightened servant, “Thank you for your help.” He smiled softly, before turning around and continuing his way to the Great Hall.

The servant’s eyes widened for a moment at Keith’s kindness, before dropping back to the floor sadly and walked back towards the kitchens. 

\---

Once he arrived at the Great Hall, he could hear people talking on the other side of the giant mahogany doors. Two guards stood outside, he eyed them both as he walked up to them, they nodded their heads to acknowledged their prince before pushing the heavy doors open and letting Keith inside. 

As soon as he walked in, everyone stopped talking and stared at him, like they hadn’t seen him in years. It made him feel uncomfortable, having everyone’s attention on him was unnerving, but he held his head up high and continued down the middle or the hall, towards his father. He wouldn’t show weakness now, not when the person he despised most was just meters in front of him.

Keith had made up his mind on the way to the Hall. All he needed was to get close enough to make that fatal blow, he knew he’d be taken down soon after, but he was alright with that. After seeing that vision, he knew that any happiness he could have had wouldn’t come to fruition, not while the Galra King was alive and there was no way in hell he would let history repeat itself. He would sacrifice himself to protect Lance and to hopefully end the Kings cruel rein. 

With each step he took, he could feel the crystals humming against his chest. Keeping a straight face as he continued his march, he hoped they wouldn’t start glowing and draw attention to themselves; he was so close now. In the corner of his eyes, Keith noticed the soldiers getting antsy; some subtly reaching for their blades. 

“Keith.” The King spoke, his eyes narrowing as they studied the prince. “We have been searching for you. Tell us where you have been these last few hours.” He demanded, scowling down at Keith.

Keith kept eye contact with the King, as well as his surroundings; the soldiers had come up behind him, trapping him. “I went for a walk, like I do nearly every night. I’m surprised you noticed.” He replied, disrespectfully.

The King glared at him, choosing to ignore Keith’s rude attitude, “I have sources that tell me you were overpowered today; that some Altean Prince managed to get the best of our finest warrior and yet here you are still alive and no wounds on your body. Care to explain how you are standing in front of me right now?” 

Keith’s eye twitched slightly at the mention of Lance, the King knew more than he was letting on, but Keith remained calm and answered emotionlessly, “The Prince was a fool. All I had to do was sweet talk him and he let me go. I won’t let him get the best of me next time we meet in battle. I will take him down myself, he will pay for making a mockery of me.” 

The soldiers behind Keith, moved up silently. 

“That won’t be happening. You will not be returning to the battlefield.” The King nodded to the men behind Keith, giving them their silent order to grab Keith. 

Keith frowned, moving forward, pulling roughly out of their grasps. “What is the meaning of this?” he yelled.

The men continued to try and grab Keith as he kept fighting from their hold; he pulled his sword out and backed himself towards the King.

“I know you went to see that Altean brat. I should have known it would only be a matter of time before history repeated itself.” The King stood and walked up to Keith.

Keith froze. The King had just confessed to knowing about Shiro and Allura, he glared, the anger flaring inside as the soldiers in front of him suddenly stopped attacking. Keith was confused for a moment before he realized someone was behind him. He didn’t have time to react as the King came up and grabbed him by the back of his hair, pulling him off the ground. He yelled out in pain, swinging his sword around to hit the King. This was his chance. If only he could spin around with enough force. 

Ignoring the throbbing pain in his head, Keith gritted his teeth and swung his body around, readying his sword to stab the King straight through his throat. He was so close. This was it; he was finally going to get his revenge. The sword didn’t make it to its destination though. His eyes widened as the King grabbed the sword, just before impact, like it was nothing. 

“You really think you could take me down that easily? You are just one of my mistakes; you have been nothing but a disappointment your entire life and I should have got rid of you the day you were born.” The King growled, ripping the sword from Keith’s hand. “I should have known you would follow in your brother’s footsteps. Both of you had been complete failures. It shames the family name to even have you or Prince Shiro be claimed as Galra royalty! Now you will meet the same fate.” He threw Keith to the ground, smashing his head into the concrete tiles. 

Keith was stunned, seeing stars after making impact with the cold hard floor. He scrunched up his eyes and groaned loudly as he tried to move away but a heavy pressure pressed against his side stopped him. He slowly opened his eyes, looking over at what was preventing him to move. Shaking his head a few times to clear his vision, he saw it was someone’s boot. He gripped at the shoe, trying to push its crushing weight off his stomach. “Y-you will pay for killing Shiro.” He spat, he could feel blood seeping down his face. 

The King laughed, pushing more weight into Keith, making him grunt out in pain and gasping for air. “Shiro was a traitor. He deserved to die, as do you and you’re Altean Prince.” Keith’s eyes widened at the thought of Lance being killed as the King lifted his foot and swiftly kicked Keith, causing him to curl into himself, coughing and wheezing. “In fact-” He bent down to grab the front of Keith’s shirt, bringing him to his feet roughly. “I think I might keep you alive for just a bit longer, just so you can watch me kill him before I kill you.” 

Keith glared at the King, bringing his hands around the Kings to try and release the grip. “Don’t you fucking touch him! He hasn’t done anything to you. If you want to punish me for being such a disappointment, then kill me. Leave him out of this.” He was having no luck getting free from the Kings grasp.

“Why do you care so much about him? You’ve only known him for what… a few hours. Do you honestly think he cares about you? No one could possible love such a worthless creature. Did you think his family and friends would just welcome you into their homes? You are their enemy. You don’t belong anywhere.” The King laughed out, the soldiers and guards in the room joining him. 

Keith frowned, letting himself go limp in the Kings grip. He didn’t know what to think. He knew no one here wanted him. Shiro was the only one who ever spent time with him and treated him kindly… but he was gone now and he was left alone. The King was right about Lance. He was foolish to think Lance actually cared about him more then an infatuation. They hadn’t known each other long enough to form any sort of bond. He’d just end up being a burden to him anyway… that’s all he ever was. He closed his eyes, as the thoughts filled his mind, the laughter fading away into the background, making him feel hollow and empty inside. Lance had been so sincere and kind. He had never met anyone like him. 

His thoughts filtered through the time he had spent with Lance. Their battle, seeing Lance’s face for the first time, meeting him tonight, their kiss, Lance comforting him… his heart felt heavy as he thought about those blue eyes he lost himself in; he yearned to see them one last time. Lance was a good person, he was kind and gentle and did was he thought was best, even if he broke the rules; he would make a great King one day. Keith’s frown deepened as determination filled him. He couldn’t give up now, even if he wasn’t going to make it out of this alive, he was going to save Lance and to do that he would have to kill his father. Heat radiated against his chest again as he opened his eyes to glare at the King; the crystals emitted a sharp light that blinded everyone in the room.

The King screamed out, dropping Keith as he tried to cover his face from the light. “Wha- Where is this light coming from?” 

Keith fell to his knees, slightly dazed. He tried to get up and run, but the King was quick and grabbed the back of his shirt as the light dimmed.

“Oh no you don’t. What do you have there?” He demanded, pulling Keith back and turning him around. He grabbed the front of Keith’s shirt again to prevent him from fleeing, reaching for the chain around his neck and pulling the vial from its hiding place. He laughed as he pulled the chain roughly, breaking it from around Keith’s neck before throwing Keith back to the floor. “Well, look at what we have here. A piece of Altean crystal… and it looks like it still has some power. This will be very useful in our attack on the Altean Castle.” 

“Give them back! They don’t belong to you!” Keith stood, and charged at the King, trying to get the crystals back. He didn’t make it far before he fell to the ground, screaming out in pain, gripping at his thigh where an arrow now protruded. He looked around, glaring at the guard standing to the side of the room, pulling out another arrow, ready to fire if needed. The other soldiers were also readying their arrows and swords. Keith had no chance of getting the crystals back. 

The King walked towards the exit of the hall, crystals still in his grasp. “Take him to the dungeon; I’ll deal with him later. It’s time to go on a little hunt.” With that he walked out of the room, some of the guards following him.

Keith knew the hunt meant he was going to try and find Lance, but he was currently injured and unarmed in a room full of soldiers with not a lot of options. Letting out a deep breath, he felt really stupid. He should have listened to Lance. They could have come up with a better plan then him just storming a castle on his own, thinking he could actually do some good.

The soldiers started to walk up to him, their swords and bows ready in case Keith decided to do anything. Keith just chuckled quietly. What could he possibly do to them without his sword? 

One of the taller soldiers came up to him, smirking, “Well, well, well. Looks like the little half-breed finally gets what’s coming to him. I’ve been looking forward to this for a very long time.” He came right up to Keith, grabbing the front of his shirt.

Keith stumbled, trying to pull out of the grip. He was in pain and feeling exhausted. The throbbing in his head was starting to affect his vision again; he just wanted to lie down and sleep. “Fuck off Rolo. The King ordered you to take me to the dungeon, he wants me alive remember.” 

Rolo laughed, “Oh, I can have plenty of fun without killing you, you little bastard. Come on guys; let’s go teach this traitor a lesson.” He dragged Keith along roughly out of the Great Hall, his gang of followers walking close behind. 

Keith struggled against the strong hold on his shirt but gave up soon after; he didn’t have the energy to fight anymore. His leg was going numb, blood soaked through his pants, down to his boot. “Where are you taking me?” he growled. 

“To the dungeons, I don’t want to have to clean up the mess once we are done.” Rolo replied, as they made their ways down the stairs to the lower areas of the castle. He stopped once they were outside one of the cells. “This will do.” He threw Keith against the bars.

Keith stumbled, sliding down the bars to the ground. He huffed out a painful breath as a ringing sound emanated in his ears. He closed his eyes and tried to block out the sound.

“Giving up so easily? I knew you were pathetic but this is pitiful. Get up! At least try to give me challenge.” Rolo grabbed Keith off the ground, bringing him up to a standing position and pushed into the bars behind him, before punching him in the side of the face. 

Keith’s head snapped to the left, his vision blurred as he spat blood to the ground beside him. He didn’t bother responding to Rolo’s taunts, it would only encourage him and he was struggling to stay conscious as it was. He’d just let Rolo have his fun and hope he’d leave him alone soon. 

Rolo continued his onslaught. He punched and kicked every inch of Keith’s body, letting his friends have their share of fun as well. They soon got bored however as Keith just lay, curled into the fetal position, letting them have their way with him. “Let’s go guys, I’m done wasting time on this loser. Maybe the King will let us go hunt down his little boyfriend. Hopefully, he’ll put up more of a fight.” He shoved Keith into the cell and slammed the door shut, walking away.

Keith waited until he couldn’t hear their voices anymore before attempting to move. He groaned painfully as he tried to stretch out. His entire body ached. He was pretty sure he had some broken ribs, as it was painful to breath. He tried to sit up slowly, wincing every step of the way; the arrow was still sticking out of his leg. He bit his bottom lip anxiously. If the King and Rolo were to find Lance, he had no idea what they would do to him. He silently hoped that Lance wouldn’t come looking for him. He would be safe as long as he stayed in the cabin. 

Keith chuckled, hissing in pain as he slumped himself against the back wall of the cell. Of course Lance would come looking for him. That was the type of person Lance was. He sighed, closing his eyes. He still had some time before the mist cleared and it would be safe to travel. Since he couldn’t do anything without his crystals he’d just have to rest until then. Letting exhaustion engulf him, he fell into a restless sleep.

\---

Lance was hysterical. He had woken up at dawn to find Keith missing. Lance paced up and down the cabin, he knew where Keith had gone and he was beyond worried. Now he was stuck in this damn enchanted cabin alone, with no way to leave until midmorning and no way to know if Keith was alright. Lance had never met the Galra King, only heard tales of his cruelty from others. The thought of him hurting or killing Keith made his heart twist painfully. Why did he have to be such an idiot? He should have known Keith would sneak out, he had just watched his brother be murdered, and was hell bent on revenge. Why the fuck wouldn’t he sneak out.

He growled at himself, kicking the edge of the bed in frustration before sitting on the side, huffing out a breath. He dropped his head into his hands, anxiety swelling in his chest as he wished time would move faster so he could leave and go search for Keith. He let his mind wonder as he waited. It had been less then a day, but somehow Keith had managed to become one of the most important people in Lance’s life. Lance wasn’t sure how it had happened or the exact moment, but right now, all he wanted was to hold Keith in his arms and never let go. 

His eyebrows crinkled slightly, he’d had crushes before, but this felt completely different… stronger; nothing he had ever felt for anyone before. Is this what love felt like? Was it possible to fall for someone you had just met? Clutching the fabric of his shirt hanging over his chest, Lance stood up, determined. It didn’t matter what the feeling was, all he needed to do was find Keith and make sure he was safe. Nothing else mattered right now. He walked over to grab his cloak, pulling it off the hook and swinging it around his back, clipping it around his neck. Opening the door, he noticed the mist had started to reside. “I’ll find you, I promise.” He whispered before running out into the forest.

\---

Keith was startled awake by a sharp pain in his thigh. He opened his eyes to see the servant from earlier wrapping a cloth around his wounded leg and the pieces of arrow on the ground beside them. He groaned painfully, alerting the servant that he was now awake.

The servant looked up, pulling their hands from his leg before bowing their head avoiding contact. “I am so sorry your highness. I knew what they were planning, but did not tell you.”

Keith had no idea how long he had been out, but the sun shone through the small barred window above him. The pain throughout his body had not diminished as he attempted to stand, using the wall to pull himself from the ground. “It’s alright. I was stupid for coming back here. I let my emotions get the better of me.” He frowned, “Can you get me out of here? I need to find someone before the King does.”

“Sire, you’re injured; you won’t make it far before the mist returns.” The servant exclaimed, worry evident in their voice as they stood from their crouching position. 

Keith released a painful breath as he limped over towards the cell door using the wall for stability. “It doesn’t matter, I need to go. Please… he is all I have left to live for. I can’t let him die because of me.” He begged, uncharacteristically. Keith was desperate. It sounded like he had over slept and he didn’t have much time to make it back to the cabin before the mist came back over. He had to find Lance. 

The servant bowed pulling out a key from their pocket, “Very well, I wish you well, your highness.” They opened the cell door, stepping out of the way for Keith to walk out.

Keith stumbled out of the cell quickly, stopping next to the servant, “Thank you, I will never forget your kindness, I hope to repay you someday.” Then he scurried off, down the small corridors to his secret exit. 

Once he got outside, he noticed how late it really was. The sun was high in the sky, indicating it was past midday. There was only a couple of hours left of safe travel time. Glancing down at his now bandaged leg, Keith grumbled, hobbling off into the direction of the forest. There wasn’t any time to waste; he just hoped his slowed pace and fractured ribs would allow him to get to the cabin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will Keith be able to get back in time?? Will the Galra King find Lance? Find out in the final chapter which will be posted next week!!
> 
> Thank you guys for reading! I hope you are enjoying it and will stick around to find out how it ends :)  
> Please let me know what you think in the comments, I really do love reading them.
> 
> If you want to come talk Voltron or Klance you can come find me on Tumblr @Forsakenangel88 I love meeting new people!


	4. Of Darkness and Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance and Keith discover the true history of the war, overcome more trials and make great sacrifices.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it!!!! The final chapter which happens to be nearly as long as the first 3 combined XD 
> 
> Thank you to those who have left kudos, bookmarked and left comments, you have motivated me to see this to the end and I am so happy that people have actually enjoyed this story. 
> 
> I also want to thank @lightoflunaris on Tumblr for helping me edit and encouraging me to continue as well <3

Chapter 4

The sun light had started to dim in the sky; the first sign the mist would be returning soon. Lance had spent hours running through the forest, trying to find the way to the Galra castle, but had ended up getting lost. Cursing to himself, he continued onwards, trying to at least get back to the cabin. His anxiety was at an all-time high. He had achieved nothing; he wasn’t able to find the castle or Keith and he was still worried about Hunk and his own father. He let out a frustrated sigh, slowing to a walk. It was times like this that really made him feel worthless.

A groan in the distance caught his attention, drawing him out of his negative thoughts. He frowned slightly, listening carefully as he quietly moved towards where the sound had come from. Hiding behind some trees, he glanced around to see if he could see anyone, when something caught his eye. Squinting to get a better look, he noticed a familiar mop of black hair and a crimson shirt that was torn to pieces. His eyes widened as he ran from behind the trees up to the body that was sprawled out on the ground.

“Keith!” He yelled out, skidding to a stop next to the other male. He picked up Keith’s head, cradling it gently in his lap, using his other hand to brush the bangs from Keith’s eyes.

Keith groaned while being moved, but didn’t open his eyes. Lance took a moment to look over the body in his arms. Keith was a mess. His clothes were torn and ripped, covered in a mixture of mud, dirt and blood. The skin that was visible was covered with different size bruises and cuts; then there was a bandage around his thigh that was soaked in blood. Lance frowned, he needed to get Keith to the cabin immediately and start treating these wounds before they got infected. Only problem was, he was still lost and had no idea which way the cabin was.  
He gently caressed Keith cheek, careful to not touch his busted lip and blackened eye. “Keith, come on buddy, I need you to wake up.”

Keith groaned again, scrunching his eyes in pain, “L-lan…ce?”

Lance’s eyes lit up as Keith mumbled out his name, “I’m here… We need to get back to the cabin. Do you think you can point out the direction for us?”

Blinking a few times to clear the fogginess from his vision, Keith turned his head to look at their surroundings. Frowning at his obscured view from the ground, he tried to sit up, hissing in pain as he bent forward, irritating his ribs.

Lance’s hand came up to support his back immediately. “Easy, try not to move too much, here, I’m going to pick you up alright.” He placed his arms around Keith’s back and under his knees.  
Keith nodded slightly, wrapping his arms around Lance’s shoulders, wincing as Lance lifted him off the ground. Lance looked down worried, “You aright?”

“Yeah…just hurts. We don’t have much time. You may need to run if we are to get back to the cabin before the mist returns.” Keith rested his head against Lance’s shoulder, feeling exhausted.

“Why do we need to rush? You have the crystals, they’ll protect us right?” Lance asked confused as he started walking in the direction Keith was pointing to.

“I lost them. The King found them and took them from me. Now he’s coming after you. He knew. I-I’m so sorry, none of this would have happened if it wasn’t for me.” Keith whispered as tears swelled in the corners of his eyes.

Lance’s heart skipped a beat at the thought of the Galra King having possession of the crystals. While he had them in his grasp he would be protected by the spell enchanting them. It also left them vulnerable now as the crystals were their only way to travel through the mist, without them they’d be severely limited to move. Lance glanced down at Keith and frowned slightly, he couldn’t imagine how Keith was feeling right now. His father had just taken the only thing Shiro had left for Keith and then proceeded to bash the shit out of the poor guy. He couldn’t be mad at Keith after everything he’d been through.

“Shhh, it’s alright. We’ll figure this all out later. All I care about right now is getting you patched up so you don’t get any infections.” Lance replied softly, picking up the pace. “I’m sorry, this may hurt while I run, but I promise to be as gentle as I can.”

Keith just smiled softly into Lance’s shirt, tightening his grip around Lance’s shoulders to try and stop some of the jarring as Lance took off in a sprint.

\---

They just made it back in time. The mist closing in on them as they slammed the door shut. Lance was panting hard as he placed Keith gently down on the bed.

“How… are you… doing?” He asked between breaths.

Keith glanced up at him, as Lance took his cloak off, hanging it back on the hook by the door. “Better, now I know you’re safe.”

Lance froze, turning around to face Keith, “You were really that worried about me?” he asked, in shock. He didn’t think Keith cared that much about him, was it possible he felt the same way as he did for Keith?

Keith smiled as he tried to push himself up against the pillows to sit up a bit, but grimaced; putting a hand over his ribcage. “I-I knew you’d come looking for me. I was worried they’d find y-” he paused as a sharp pain shot through his leg. Scrunching his eyes closed, he inhaled a deep breath, releasing it slowly.

Lance quickly came up to him, pressing him back down against the bed. “Hey, you need to stop moving. Are there any medical supplies here? We need to clean those wounds.”

Keith took another deep breath before replying, “Yeah, there should be some in the small closet by the kitchen.”

Nodding, Lance went over to the closet and opened it. There were a few dishes, some cloths and a small box shoved in the back corner. “Is it this box here?” He asked, pulling it out to show Keith.

“Yeah, I don’t have much here, sorry, we’ll just have to make do.” Keith replied.

Lance walked back to the bed, bringing the box and a small bowl of water, he had filled in the sink. “Alright, I’ll do my best. First we need to look at that leg, it’s still bleeding.” He put the box down next to Keith and the bowl on the small table next to the bed.

“Yeah…a servant only dressed in quickly this morning.” Keith frowned.

Lance took out a clean rag and placed it next to Keith’s leg before unwrapping the dirty bandage. The bandage tugged at the skin as he unwrapped it, dried blood crusting around the edges. Lance grimaced as Keith let out a hiss as the bandage pulled on the wound itself. 

“Sorry, I was trying to be gent-” he stopped, looking down at the hole in Keith’s leg and frowned, the skin around the wound was slightly discolored; a milky discharge seeping at the edges. “This has already started to become infected. I’m going to have to clean it with disinfectant to kill the infection.” He looked up at Keith, “It’s going to hurt.”

Keith sighed, “It’s fine. Just make it quick.” He took in a breath and clenched his teeth together to prepare for the pain.

Lance nodded before ripping the tattered pants leg completely off to give him better access to the wound. He grabbed a bottle of disinfectant and took a deep breath before pouring some over the wound.

Keith screamed out in pain, grabbing his leg in a tight grip. “Damn!… that hurt more than I thought it would!” He gritted out through clenched teeth, letting his head fall back on the pillow behind him, focusing on his breaths to try and ignore the intense pain shooting through his thigh. 

Lance furrowed his eyebrows in concern as he put the bottle down, grabbing a clean cloth to clean the wound before taking a clean bandage, wrapping it securely around the thigh. He was silent for a while, just washing the other cuts and scrapes, bandaging the worse ones. He stopped once he had finished with all the exposed skin.

Keith had been watching Lance work, wondering what was on his mind. Lance wasn’t usually this quiet. He was surprised he hadn’t asked him what had happened or even scolded him for going out on his own. When Lance stopped working and his hand just hovered over his stomach, he grabbed Lance’s hand in his own, holding it gently. “What’s wrong?” he asked softly.

Lance glanced up to meet Keith’s eyes for a moment before dropping them down again.  
Keith frowned at this, but waited for Lance to answer him.

“U-uh, I need you to take your shirt off so I can tend to your ribs…” He stood up for a moment, putting the cloth down and turning to Keith, still not making eye contact. “I’ll help you sit up.”

Keith let Lance’s arm wrap around his shoulder blades, lifting him slowly off the pillows into a sitting position. Once in a sitting position, Keith attempted to pull the shirt up over his head, but Lance swatted his hands away and pulled the shirt up himself, being careful to avoid any jolting movements. Keith shivered as Lance’s fingers grazed his skin softly. He watched as Lance sat back down next to him, grabbing the cloth again and gently dabbing the dirt and grime off his chest; Lance still had a dejected look on his face.

He frowned again and grabbed Lance’s hand that was currently wiping over his collarbone. “Lance, look at me.” He demanded.

Lance stilled for a minute before answering the request, electric blue meeting violet eyes.  
“What’s wrong? You’ve barely said anything since we’ve been back here.”

Lance tried to look away but Keith’s hand came up to caress his cheek, bringing it back to look him in the eye once more. 

“Please, talk to me…” he whispered, concerned.

Lance sighed, “I- You could have been killed.” He frowned, “You could have died, and I was stuck here, useless. I couldn’t do anything to help you, like I promised. I was so worried about you. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t of come back… if I didn’t find you in time.” Tears fell from his eyes as he stared into Keith’s eyes, filled with a mixture of emotions; it was too much, he couldn’t keep looking at them. He closed his eyes and continued rambling, “I know I shouldn’t feel this way about someone I’ve only just met, but I do, I can’t explain why, but I care. I care about you so much. I don’t want to live without you. I want you by my side alwa-” he was cut off by a pair of lips pressed against his; his eyes opening wide in shock.

Listening to Lance confess how much Keith meant to him and how bad he felt not being able to help filled Keith with so much emotion, he moved forward without thinking, ignoring the pain shooting through his leg and ribs and pressed his lips against the other males for a short but tender kiss. He pulled back slightly, pulling Lance’s forehead to his own. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t think before I acted and I’ve just made everything worse. I should have listened to you and waited. Now my father has the crystals and he has a personal vendetta against you, just so he can punish me.” He closed his eyes, “I- I just wanted to protect you and avenge my brother but I couldn’t even do that… I’m sorry.”

Lance smiled gently, bringing his own hand up to Keith’s face to caress him. “I guess we both failed pretty badly today then, huh.” He joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Keith chuckled, opening his eyes and smiled at Lance, “We make a pretty good team.”

Lance laughed, pulling back to look at Keith properly, “That we do. Just promise me you won’t go off and do anything dangerous and life threatening without me next time, alright? We are in this together.”

Keith’s eyes softened, “I promise. Thank you, Lance.”

Lance smiled back, pink tinting his cheeks as he gazed into Keith’s eyes. “Alright, let’s finish getting you cleaned up.” He turned to wash the cleaning rag in the bowl of water, rinsing it and returning to rub the rest of the dirt from Keith’s chest. “So what are we going to do now?”

Keith sighed, “I honestly don’t know. My father is searching for you, so he will attack Altea.” He dropped his gaze and frowned, “I don’t know when he’ll attack, but now he has the crystals, he can travel through the mist and he’ll be nearly unstoppable.”

Lance hummed, wrapping another small bandage around Keith’s waist. “Well he doesn’t know the crystals are enchanted right, he won’t know he can travel safely through the mist and even if he does find out, he will be the only one to be able to cross since you need physical contact to be protected.”

Keith gave Lance a strange look. “You don’t seem overly concerned that a blood thirsty tyrant is planning to attack your home and wants to kill you personally.”

Lance chuckled. “Trust me, I’m worried, but we can’t do anything until tomorrow when the mist clears and you are in no state to go anywhere at the moment, so all we can do is plan and get as much rest as we can.” He grabbed a smaller cloth and started cleaning Keith’s busted lip. “I think we should head back to Altea tomorrow. Hunk will be freaking out because I’ve been gone so long, he probably thinks you’ve killed me or something.”

Keith raised his eyebrow. “Who’s Hunk?”

“Oh, right. Hunk’s my personal servant and best friend. He’s the only one who knows about you. Once we sneak back in, he’ll be able to help us.” Lance explained, finishing up with Keith’s face and helping him put his shirt back on before leaning him back down against the pillows slowly.

“Are you sure it’s a good idea to go to the place my father knows you’ll be?”

Lance walked over to the sink, emptying the dirty water and rinsing the bowl and cloths clean. “We can’t do anything here. We know he’s coming so I can prepare our army. This battle is inevitable.” He came back to sit on the edge of the bed.

Keith sighed, “…I know.”

Lance pulled his boots off, hopped into the bed next to Keith, facing him and pulled the blankets over them both. “Try not to worry about it too much right now. You need to rest and let your wounds heal.

Keith smirked. “Are you always this motherly?”

Lance huffed and smiled, staring into Keith’s eyes. “Only for the people I care about. So you better get used to it.”

Keith’s smirk dropped to a soft smile as he grabbed Lance’s hand under the covers, entangling their fingers. “I’ll try.” He whispered, closing his eyes.

Encased in the warmth of each other’s embrace, they both fell into a deep sleep.

\---

The bright morning sun shone through the window above the bed.

Lance had been awake for a few hours now. His head rested on his arm as he watched Keith sleep, thinking about the day they were about to deal with. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t feeling anxious. He hoped once he informed his father of the Galra Kings plan, they’d be able to stop him before they came near the castle. He didn’t want innocent civilians caught up in the bloodshed.

Sighing, he brought his hand up to brush the stray hair that had fallen across Keith’s face as he slept, rubbing his thumb over the red markings under his eyes. They stood out against the soft lilac colour of Keith’s skin, running in a similar pattern to his own Altean markings. Lance frowned slightly. Keith did say he was only half Galra, was it possible he was half Altean? He didn’t have the glowing eyes of a Galra and his ears were smaller, similar in shape to his own, but still slightly fluffy. His fingers froze as Keith wrinkled his nose and scrunched up his eyes slightly. Pulling his hand away, a smiled stretched across his face; Keith was so adorable when he wasn’t scowling.

Keith opened his eyes slowly, blinking a few times before releasing a small yawn. “Hmmm… what time is it?” he asked sleepily.

Lance had to take a few small breaths to calm himself down. Seeing Keith like this was making him what to just pull the other male in close and never let go, but Keith was still injured so that would have to wait for now. “Nearly mid-morning, we’ll have to leave soon.”

Keith rubbed his eyes to remove the sleep and frowned. “It’s that late already? Why didn’t you wake me earlier?”

Lance sat up and shrugged, “There’s not a whole lot we can do until we can leave, besides you needed the extra sleep. How are you feeling today?”

Keith yawned again, before sitting up, wincing as be bent. “Ribs are still sore, but I feel better than yesterday.”

Lance stood up, pulling his boots on. “That’s good. Once we get you back to the castle we can get you bathed and I’ll redress your wounds.” He walked over to Keith’s side of the bed to help him out. “Do you think you’ll be able to walk?”

Keith bit his bottom lip, his thigh was still throbbing but he had burdened Lance so much already, he didn’t want him to have to carrying him all the way back to his castle. “I should be alright. Can you help put my boots on though; I can’t bend over with my ribs.”

“Of course and if you feel like you can’t walk anymore or you need a break, just let me know alright and we’ll stop.” Lance replied, tugging on Keith’s knee high combat boots.

Keith only nodded as Lance pulled him up to a standing position. He limped over to the door, pulling his cloak from the hook and placing it around his shoulders, doing up the tie in the front before pulling his hood over his head.

“You’ll need to stick close to me when we get into the castle town. Hopefully no one will stop us before I can get you safely to my chamber. Just try and keep your head down and your hands under your cloak.” Lance instructed as he pulled on his own cloak.

Keith frowned slightly, sighing. Lance was going to so much trouble to keep him safe. Shiro had done the same thing and had been killed. He didn’t want to be the reasons for Lance’s death. Guilt flooded his thoughts causing his chest to tighten; he clenched his hands, fingernails digging into his palms.

Lance noticed Keith’s change in demeanor, taking his hands in his own. “Hey, it will be alright. Once we get inside we’ll be safe. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Keith looked up into Lance’s eyes, frown deepening. “I don’t want you to get hurt because of me. You need to look after yourself as well.”

Lance sighed, pulling his own hood on. “Come on, we’ll worry about it later. Right now we need to get back to Altea.” He took Keith’s hand and led him out the door into the forest, not replying to Keith’s concern.

\---

A few hours later, they had safely snuck back into the Altean castle. Lance kept to the shadows, pulling Keith along the long halls, hiding whenever a guard or servant came by to avoid being questioned. Everyone seemed too preoccupied to even notice the Prince and his cloaked friend wandering through the town and halls of the castle; something Lance was feeling grateful for.

Once back in Lance’s chamber, he let out a sigh of relief, pulling his hood down after closing the door. “Well that was easier than I thought it would be.” He turned to Keith who still had his hood up. “You can take your cloak off in here. No one comes in here except Hunk. You’ll be safe, I promise.”

Keith pulled back his hood, revealing his pain stricken face.

Lance frowned, coming up to him. “Are you alright?” he asked, concerned as he helped Keith remove his cloak.

Keith grimaced, one of his arms wrapped around his ribs, protectively. “Y-yeah, I’ll be fine. I just need to rest for a while.” His thigh felt like it was throbbing under the bandage, sending shooting pain up and down his leg like lightning bolts.

Lance helped Keith over to his bed, taking off his boots before helping him lay across the blue and gold patterned bedcover. “I told you to let me know if you needed to take a break.” He scolded, taking a seat next to Keith to check over his wounds. “It doesn’t look like any have reopened. I need to go find Hunk and then we can get a bath and clean clothes ready for you and I can redress these with clean bandages. Will you be alright in here while I’m gone?”

Keith raised his eyebrow, slightly irritated. “I’m not a child Lance, I can look after myself. I don’t need you to baby me all the time.”

Lance got up off the bed. “Alright, alright. Sorry, I’ll be back as soon as I can. Just don’t leave this room.” He huffed, walking towards the door.

“Good-bye Lance.” Keith replied, exasperated as Lance left the room. It wasn’t that he was ungrateful for Lance’s attentiveness, he just wasn’t used to being smothered with it. He was in too much pain to deal with anyone right now. All he wanted was some quiet so he could rest in peace. He closed his eyes, deciding to have a nap until Lance got back.

\---

Keith was awoken but someone making a yelping sound in the room. His eyes snapped open and he jumped off the bed ready to fight whoever had come in. Across the room, his eyes settled on a larger man in commoner's clothing, holding a dagger. “Who are you?” He demanded, glaring.

“I should be asking you that! How did you get into Prince Lance’s private chambers? Do you know where he is?” The other man glared, as he held a gold and sapphire encrusted dagger defensively. 

Keith glare softened to a frown as he lowered his arms. He was the one technically trespassing and he didn’t have the energy to fight, even after his nap, nor did he have a weapon to fight or defend with. “Lance brought me here; he went to find someone named Hunk.”

The male’s eyes widened as he relaxed, the dagger still in his hand. “He’s back? That means he’s safe right? I guess you must be Keith… the Galra prince he went to--” he was interrupted by the door opening, both of them turning to see Lance walk in.

“I couldn’t find Hunk, but I managed to find a bunch of clean banda--” He looked up and saw Keith and Hunk staring at him, “Oh! Hunk, you’re here. I guess you two have met then.” He frowned seeing the dagger in Hunk’s hand, “I hope you didn’t try to use that Hunk, Keith’s injured enough.”

Hunk quickly put the Prince’s dagger down on the shelf next to him. “No, I picked it up in self-defense in case he tried anything. I walked in to see if you had returned and found him sleeping on your bed, he woke up and looked like he was going to attack me.” He explained, flustered.

Lance looked over to Keith to see him pouting.

“You scared the shit out of me! How the hell was I supposed to know you weren’t trying to kill me? You had a dagger in your hand.” He crossed his arms, annoyed.

Lance sighed, “Okay, so it’s all just a big misunderstanding. We are all friends here, no one will be attacking anyone.” He walked over and placed the bandages on the bed and turned to Hunk. “Hunk, you will be helping me keep Keith safe here; his King is trying to kill both of us so we need to be prepared for an attack. Right now we need to get Keith bathed and redress his bandages so his wounds don’t become infected.”

Hunk looked worried, Lance had only been gone one day and now the Galra King was apparently trying to kill him. How the Lance managed to get himself into these situations, Hunk didn’t know. “Alright, but later you have to tell me everything that has happened while you were missing. I’ll get the bath ready.” He walked to the back of the room to prepare the bath.

Lance turned back to Keith. “Sorry about Hunk, I didn’t realize he’d drop by. Come on, I’ll grab you some clean clothes and you can get out of those torn ones.”

Keith followed Lance over to where Hunk was finishing up the bath water. “Can we get some food? I can’t even remember the last time we ate.”

“Oh, sure thing. I’ll go grab you guys something. Is there anything else you need while I’m out?” Hunk asked, walking towards the door.

Keith shook his head, “No thank you.”

“Thanks Hunk, we’ll talk when you get back.” Lance smiled.

Hunk nodded, smiling back before he left the room.

Keith began to take off his dirty, torn clothes.

“Did you need any help?” Lance asked, watching Keith struggle.

Keith looked over at him, glaring. “No, I can manage.” He replied curtly.

Lance frowned at him. “Okay, I was just asking.” He snapped back, walking over to his bed. “I know you can do things for yourself, but that doesn’t mean you have to. It’s ok to ask for help sometimes.” He sat on the edge of the bed, keeping his eyes down as he heard Keith get into the bath.

Keith was silent for a while, just sitting in the tub, the warm water felt great against his grimy skin as he used a cloth to wipe away the dirt. He didn’t know why he was being so rude to Lance all of a sudden. He frowned at himself. Yeah he was feeling slightly on edge and he was still frustrated at himself for letting his father get the better of him and losing the crystals Shiro had left him and he was annoyed because his wounds were preventing him from being able to do much and he was currently hiding out in the enemy’s castle, which if he was caught he’d most likely be killed and he had no idea what punishments awaited Lance…okay, yeah, so his anxieties were running high but that was no reason to be rude to the only person who cared about him.

Keith moved slightly to look back at Lance who was currently taking his boots off with a slight scowl on his face. Lance didn’t deserve to be treated like that. He took a breath to calm himself. “Lance?” he asked gently.

Lance looked up surprised, the scowl disappearing at the softness of Keith’s voice. He hadn’t expected Keith to talk to him until he was done and he certainly wasn’t expecting that tone. “Yeah?” He replied softly, meeting Keith’s gaze.

Keith sat up and moved the cloth towards his back. “Would you mind…?” he asked uncertainly, indicating that he needed help to wash his back.

Lance smiled softly. “Of course.” He got up off the bed and walked over to the bath, taking the cloth from Keith and began to rub the dirt from his back.

Keith hummed softly, enjoying the calming sensation of Lance’s actions. “I’m sorry for snapping at you…” he started, wrapping his arms around his knees as he bent forward to give Lance more access. “I know you’re only trying to help. I just hate feeling powerless and having to hide.”

“I know, and I’m sorry too. We are both a little on edge but it’ll be over soon.” Lance replied, as he finished cleaning Keith’s back, standing up to bring him a towel.

Keith took the towel as the door opened again; Hunk walking in with two giant plates of food.  
He set the two plates down on the table and sat down opposite Lance as Keith got dressed and joined them a moment later.

Lance filled him in on everything they had found out while Keith and he ate.

“Whoa, you mean Allura was going to have a Galra child? That could have united the two kingdoms, ending the rivalry that began way before the war even started. Why would the Galra King kill his own son and grandchild?” Hunk asked, shocked at the new revelation.

Keith scoffed, glaring at the food he was currently pushing around on his plate. “My father doesn’t want peace. He wants to control all the kingdoms. He believes the Galra race are superior to all others, he looks down on anyone who is not full Galra.”

Hunk frowned, crossing his arms as he leaned back in his chair. “Okay then, so what do we do now? If he can’t be reasoned with then we will have to fight them right?”

“I will talk with my father. If I can explain the situation to him, tell him what really happened to Allura and about Shiro and Keith maybe I can make him change his mind about the Galra and we can find a way to take the King out without all the unnecessary bloodshed.”

“Lance you know how stubborn your father is and how he feels about the Galra. You are going to have a hard time convincing him any of them are good, especially when it comes to Allura. He’s also been asking about your whereabouts, he expected you to give him a report this morning. I don’t know if he’s in a listening mood right now.” Hunk explained.

Lance sighed, standing up. He was tired of sitting around and talking. Something had to be done now. “I have to try. It’s getting late, you can leave for the night once you clean this up. Keith, just get some more rest, I’ll be back as soon as I can.” He moved from the table and left the room, not letting the others respond.

Keith raised an eyebrow. “Is he always this bossy and stubborn?”

Hunk chuckled. “You have no idea. It’s his way of hiding how worried he is. Did you need anything before I finish for the night?”

Keith stood up from the table. “No…” He went to walk over to the bed, but turned back to Hunk and smiled gently. “Thank you Hunk, I know this is probably an awkward situation for you to be in since I’m the enemy, but I really appreciate what you’re doing for me.”

Hunk smiled back as he cleared up the plates. “You aren’t the enemy Keith. Just because a small group of people make bad decisions, doesn’t make an entire race bad. We all make our own choices in life and that is what defines us.” He picked up the plates and headed towards the door, turning around before he leaves. “Lance may be an idiot sometimes, but he has good instincts, he trusts you and so do I.” His eyes meet Keith’s widened ones. “He really likes you, you know, he has this glimmer in his eyes when he’s looking at you. I’ve never seen him this happy before.” He chuckled to himself, leaving Keith and his now blush covered cheeks behind.

 

Lance found his father in his private study. The room itself wasn’t overly big and only housed a desk that was to the left side of the room, a big maroon chair sat tucked behind it and one giant bookshelf against the right hand wall with the King’s personal favorite books and important scripts. The King was looking out the window on the far side wall as Lance entered.

“Father, I bring news about the Galra.”

The King made no acknowledgment of being spoken too.

Lance frowned and walked further into the room. “Father, the Galra King plans to attack Altea. He has a shard of the Altean Crystal that is being protected by an enchant--”

“You disappear for a day and then barge into my study spouting such nonsense. There are no shards of the crystal. The crystal has no power; it hasn’t for nearly a decade. The Galra King attacks us daily. How is this news?” The King responded, harshly, his back still facing Lance.

Lance faulted for a moment before continuing. “I know what happened to Allura. Father, she was with child, a Galra child. The Galra man she was with was killed with her that day, they were trying to run aw-” he tried to explain.

The King turned around, furious, interrupting Lance again. “Do not tell me that my beloved daughter was pregnant with one of those heathen’s children. She was hunted down and killed because she was our most powerful healer! Get out of my sight! I do not want to hear any more of this rubbish.” The King stormed out of the room.

Lance glared at the King, chasing after him. “They aren’t all bad. You can’t just blame all of them because of the actions of one man!”

The King halted, making Lance almost run into him. He spun around again; glaring at Lance, his piercing blue/grey eyes bore into Lance’s widened ones as he picked Lance up by the front of his shirt. “You will mind your place. You know nothing of what the Galra have done or what they are capable of! I am the King and I will protect this Kingdom from any threats; I will destroy those who try to conquer and destroy us. If you will not do the same then you are not fit to be a King. If you so much as mention the Galra being anything other than the monsters they are again, you will be punished for treason and stripped of any rights you have to the throne.” He growled out before throwing Lance down and marched away.

Lance fell hard to the ground, as he watched his father turn down the corridor at the end of the hall. He was beyond angry. His father was no better than the Galra King; so stuck in his own hatred that he was blind to the truth and beyond reasoning. Huffing, he picked himself up and made the trip back to his chambers, they were going to have to think of another plan. A part of him felt like he had failed again. The anger slowly dissolved into guilt, like a hollow pit in his stomach. He had promised Keith he would be safe here, that he would get the crystals back for him. If he couldn’t get his father’s permission to rally the armies, what chance did they have? They still had no clue as to when the Galra King would attack.

He stopped in front of his door frozen in place. What was he going to tell Keith? They were helpless… there wasn’t anything they could do but wait. He took a deep breath to collect himself, pushing the door open quietly.

As he walked in, he noticed Keith asleep again on the edge of the bed. Bandages were loosely wrapped around his arms and waist, the rest were sprawled out over the bed. It looked like he had attempted to bandage himself up and had given up halfway through. Lance shook his head, chuckling quietly to himself, shutting the door behind him.

Deciding to let Keith rest a while longer before spilling the bad news, Lance began to refill the tub with clean water. As it was filling he got out some new clothes and undressed before hopping in and soaking in the warm water. He sunk down, letting the warmth penetrate his aching muscles. After a good while, he started to wipe away the day’s hardships, before climbing out and redressing in his clean clothing.

Lance walked up to the bed, where Keith was still dozing and smiled down at the sleeping man. He reached out and gently shook his shoulder. “Hey…” he whispered softly.

Keith moaned as he frowned slightly, being pulled out of his sleep. “Hmm…Lance?”

“Yeah, I’m back. Come on, I need to fix your bandages. Looks like you had some trouble.” He teased, sitting on the edge of the bed, next to Keith.

Keith’s frowned deepened and he sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes. “Shut up. It’s hard to bandage yourself…” he pouted, the words ending quietly as he felt the embarrassment wash over him.

Lance laughed. “Luckily you have me then.” He picked up some of the loose bandages that were sprawled out over the side of the bed. “Can you take off your shirt so I can tend to your ribs?”

Keith nodded, lifting his shirt over his head. The bruises on his skin had already started to change colour, no longer the deep purple and black, now more of a yellow; making patches of his lilac skin look brown. “How did it go with your father?” he asked, bringing his arms down to rest in his lap after placing the shirt to the side.

Lance sighed, biting his lip as he wound a bandage around Keith’s middle. “Not good. As soon as I mentioned the Galra he lashed out. He doesn’t believe Allura would have run away with a Galra… I’m not sure what to do now. He just won’t listen and I can’t prepare the armies without his order.” He decided to keep the threat part to himself. He didn’t want Keith to worry more than he was sure he already was.

Keith silently watched as Lance tended to his wounds. He knew the Altean King despised the Galra, but he had hoped that hearing the story about Allura and Shiro would change his mind. Knowing that he felt the same hatred for the Galra as his father felt for the Alteans made him feel sick. He was putting Lance’s life in danger by being here. “…I’m sorry.” He whispered.  
Lance froze, looking up to meet Keith’s gaze, the violet eyes filled with so much guilt, regret and sadness. He frowned. “What for?”

Keith dropped his gaze, looking down at his hands in his lap. “I’ve caused you so much trouble. I know your father won’t be happy if he knew I was here. My father wants to kill you because of me. He has the protection of the crystals because of me; the same crystals that could have protected Shiro and Allura if they hadn’t of tried to take me with them. All I do is cause pain for the people I care about. Maybe it would be better if I wasn’t around.”

Lance’s frown deepened as he moved further onto the bed, facing Keith completely, his hand coming up to cup Keith’s face. “No! Don’t say that. None of this is your fault. Shiro and Allura were just caught in the crossfire, they were an excuse for our fathers to declare war on each other’s Kingdom. Their hatred for each other blinds them from the truth, but we can change that.” He brought Keith’s face up to look into his eyes again. “You are not to blame for what has happened. If my father will not listen to reason then I will fight your father and I will get the crystals back myself.”

Keith frowned and grabbed Lance’s hand. “You mean we’ll fight my father, I’m not letting you fight him alone; he’s too strong.”

Lance smiled softly. “You won’t be fighting anyone for quite some time. You will stay here with Hunk, he will look after you.” Lance pulled Keith towards him, wrapping his arms around his shoulders, whispering into his ear. “I’m not letting anyone hurt you ever again. Once this is all over, you will be free to do as you please. No one will look down on you again. The people will know that not all Galra are evil, I will make sure of it.”

Keith blushed, pulling away from Lance’s embrace slightly and bringing his hand up to caress his cheek, smiling gently. “You are amazing, you know that? I have never met anyone with so much devotion to helping those less fortunate. Your people are lucky to have you as their future King, even if you are bossy and stubborn sometimes.”

Lance scoffed, shyly looking down to avoid Keith’s intense stare. “I’m really not that great. I mess up a lot and never really achieve anything.” His eyebrow furrowed as he looked up again, feeling motivated. He may not be able to do it alone, but maybe if Keith was beside him, they could do it together. “All I want is for everyone to be happy and to get along. You’ve shown me that there is a chance we can bring everyone together.” 

He took Keith’s hands in his own and looked straight into Keith’s eyes, determination and love swirling in his own blue eyes. “Keith, once all of this is over and I take my place as rightful king of Altea, would you...would you rule with me and unite our kingdoms…” Lance had to suck in a breath because his nerves were going on a frenzy and his heartbeat ran faster. “...Together? You know, be by my side for the rest of our lives?”

Keith’s eyes widened as a deep blush covered his cheeks; he opened and closed his mouth to speak but no words came out. He was not expecting Lance to ask him to marry him. Everything was still a mess and there would be so much work to do to fix the rivalry between the two Kingdoms. Why would Lance want to… he didn’t have any power in the Galra Empire, how was he supposed to help unite them. He swallowed and took a deep breath; Lance was still watching him intently, waiting for an answer.

As he stared into those beautiful sapphire eyes, he knew none of that mattered. Lance had shown him that the world could be a better place; a place full of love and hope, where everyone could be happy. He wanted that world, not only for himself but for the others in his Kingdom that suffered under the Galra Kings rule. He wanted to stay by Lance’s side and help build that world with him. “I-I…” he stuttered, still feeling a bit flustered.

Lance frowned slightly at Keith’s hesitation and looked away, letting go of Keith’s hands he moved to get up from the bed. “I’m sorry, that was presumptuous of me to ask. I didn’t mean to make you unco-”

Keith grabbed Lance’s wrist as he tried to get off the bed, bringing him back down and smashed his lips against Lance’s stunned ones, cutting him off. He brought his hand up to curl around the back of Lance’s neck, his fingers combing through the short strands of brown hair, preventing Lance from moving away.

Lance closed his eyes, shifting to face Keith, deepening the kiss. A sudden jolt ran up his side as he felt Keith’s other hand crawl up under his shirt, his fingers tickling his skin in soft caresses. He pulled back from the kiss slightly to look into Keith’s eyes, which were somewhat glazed over in an emotion Lance couldn’t pinpoint at the moment.

Keith moved forward, bringing his legs on either side of Lance’s hips, kneeling on his lap; both his hands roaming up Lance’s sides, his head nuzzling into his neck and shoulder.

“What are you- ahh” he whispered, cut off by Keith’s lips nipping at the sensitive skin of his neck. “…Keith?” he grabbed the other male's hips to keep himself steady.

“Shhh” Keith replied, breathily between nips. “No more talking.” His warm breath tickled Lance’s skin, sending a tingling sensation down his body and making Lance shiver.

Lance dug his fingers into Keith’s hips, letting out a quiet moan.

Keith pulled back after a moment, pulling Lance’s shirt over his head, staring lovingly into his eyes as he gently ran his fingers through Lance’s hair.

Lance looked up into Keith’s eyes, getting lost in the depths of emotion surging through the violet abyss. He ran a hand down the front of Keith’s bare chest, feeling every bump and ripple of his well-toned body along with the cuts still yet to heal. His hand stopped above the bandage around his waist. “Are you sure?” He asked quietly, not wanting to hurt Keith by accident.

Keith bent forward and pressed another soft kiss against Lance’s lips, “I’m sure” he whispered as he pushed Lance back onto the mattress, capturing his lips once more.

\----

Alarm bells rang throughout the kingdom before the sun had even begun to rise, awaking the two men who were tangled in each other’s limbs and sheet.

Lance was the first to jump out of bed, pulling his pants on, he ran to the window to check what was happening. Outside he could hear the sound of distant swords clanging and the sound of arrows whirring in the sky.

Keith came up behind him. “What’s going on?”

Lance turned back, rushing to the other side of the room to grab a shirt and his boots, leaving Keith at the window. “The Galra are attacking. I have to get to my father and prepare the armies.” He replied anxiously, pulling his boots on.

Keith frowned. “How?! The mist is still flooding the fields; he shouldn’t have been able to move his entire army.” He rushed over to pull his own shirt on.

“I don’t know, but this is my chance to end this.” Lance grabbed his sword from the corner of the room.

Keith came up to him, boots already on. “I’m coming with you.”

Lance grabbed Keith’s shoulders and shook his head. “No, it’s too dangerous for you out there. If you’re seen, you will be killed. Please just stay here until I return. Hunk will be here soon, he will ensure no one will find you.” He caressed Keith’s cheek, placing a gentle kiss on his lips before running out the door to find his father, the door closing behind him.

Keith ran to the door after him, but paused, his hand on the handle and took a deep breath. He knew it would be dangerous to wander the castle grounds on his own while the Galra where attacking but he couldn’t let Lance face this alone. He needed to be by his side. Looking around the room, he saw Lance’s cloak hanging over one of the chairs at the table. Grabbing it, he pulled it on quickly and rushed back to the door, attempting to pull it open but it didn’t budge. He frowned and tried again, pulling harder, still nothing. Angry, he let out a loud growl, cursing Lance as he kicked the door; Lance had locked him in.

\---

Lance ran down the corridor towards the main entry, dodging the servants who were rushing about collecting supplies for the wounded. 

“Lance!” Hunk called out to him, pushing past the crowd.

“Hunk, where is my father? Why didn’t he summon me, I am his best warrior.” Lance rushed up to Hunk.

“He left first thing, he is leading the front lines himself. I was told he said he wanted to end this himself.” Hunk explained.

“What?! I need to go after him. The Galra King still has the crystals. My father is won’t be able to defeat him, he’ll be killed.” Lance exclaimed, getting ready to turn around and leave.

Hunk grabbed Lance’s wrist before he could take off again. “Lance listen, I found out something about the war last night in some concealed records. About twenty years ago, the two Kingdoms were to be united in matrimony. Your father’s sister was to wed the Galra King, but he fell in love with another Altean women instead, her handmaiden. I’m not sure what happened but your aunt died and your father blamed the Galra King for it. After he banished the Galra from the Kingdom, the handmaiden had a child; his child. Lance, that child was Keith. Keith is half Altean.”

Lance was shocked, he had his suspicions but to hear it was the truth hit him hard. Keith was the key to uniting their Kingdoms. He had to stop this war now, before anyone else was killed. “Hunk, go to my chambers, I locked Keith in, please keep him safe until I return.” He said quickly running off, out the door.

“What about your armor?!” Hunk yelled out to him, but Lance was already out of earshot. “Damn it Lance, why do you have to be so reckless.” He huffed out, running back up the corridor to Lance’s chamber. Hopefully Keith would be more cooperative.

\---

Keith was attempting to pick the lock when he heard footsteps outside the door. He stopped moving, waiting until the person walked past, but they stopped right in front of the door. Frowning, he quietly got up and moved away from the door, looking around to find a weapon in case he needed to defend himself. He took the dagger that Hunk had used the day before and positioned himself to the side of the door, ready to surprise attack whoever walked in.

The door opened a few moments later. “Keith?” Hunk called out, not seeing him in the room.

“Hunk?” Keith spoke up behind him, dagger clutched in his hand.

Hunk jumped and spun around, not expecting Keith to be behind him. “What are you doing with Lance’s cloak?” he asked, frowning as he shut the door.

“Hunk, you have to take me to him. My father is too strong. He’ll kill Lance as soon as he sees him. We have to help him.” Keith rushed up to Hunk, pleading.

“He’s gone to the front line to see his father. I’m not sure what we can do. It’s a mess out there, we wouldn’t make it very far.” Hunk tried to reason.

Keith sighed. “I know you care for Lance and I know you would do anything for him, and you also know he is going to die if he is out there on his own. I’m not asking you to take me to the front lines yourself, just get me outside the castle. Please, let me help him.

Hunk frowned, but nodded. He would be disobeying Lance’s order, but he Keith was right, if they stayed here Lance would be killed. He knew Keith was a good “Alright, but you two better make it back safely. Come on.” He grabbed Keith’s hand and dragged him out of the room. They both hoped they would make it in time.

\---

Lance had made it to the edge of the battle field and stopped. Looking around, dead bodies littered the ground, both Altean and Galra; a lot of them were young soldiers who probably didn’t even want to fight and now their lives were gone, taken from them all for a pointless war that had lasted way too long. Clenching his fists, Lance bowed his head in grief. No matter what it took he was going to end this today. Looking back up with determined eyes, he marched into the middle of the field, he could see the two Kings battling it out up ahead.

In the dim sunlight that was partly covered with smoke from the blazing fires surrounding him, he could make out the glimmering light of the crystals. He stole a bow and arrow from one of the corpses on the ground, taking aim straight at the Galra King. Taking a breath to relax his muscles, he took the shot; the arrow whizzing through the air and hitting its target straight on.

The two Kings gasped and separated as the sound of glass shattering pierced the field. They both turned to look in the direction the arrow had come from, seeing Lance glaring at them, bow in hand. The magic around the vial dissipated into the air, leaving the crystal shards to fall to the ground unprotected.

“ENOUGH!” Lance yelled, walking up to them. “This has gone on long enough. No more innocent people will die due to your hatred for one another!” He threw the bow down and unsheathed his sword.

“Lance stay out of this, you have no business here. I will defeat Zarkon myself.” The Altean King demanded, glaring back at his son.

Zarkon smirked. “Ahhh, so you’re the famous Lance. I have been so looking forward to meeting you.”

Lance stood firm. “I know that you were friends once; that you were planning to unite our Kingdoms. We can still have peace if you both stop being so pitiful and let go of the past. I don’t know what happened, but nothing good has come of this war. You can stop this now-”

“Zarkon killed my sister after she found out about his affair with her handmaiden. He is also responsible for killing Allura. I will never forgive him for being a murderous traitor.” The Altean King interrupted.

Zarkon growled in anger. “I didn’t kill you sister, Alfor. She killed herself because I didn’t love her back. That wrench of a servant of hers betrayed me and told you I had killed her to keep her quiet. I will never trust a worthless Altean again. You will all perish by my hand, Allura was only the first, your precious son will be next.”

“LANCE!” a voice called as a cloaked figure ran up from behind Lance.

Alfor and Zarkon looked up to see the newcomer. Zarkon smirked again. He now had all three people he wanted to kill in one spot. Lance would be his primary target; his death would devastate Alfor and Keith and make them easy targets to bring down.

Lance’s eyes widened as he turned back to see Keith running through the mass of bodies and fire, his hood falling behind back as he ran, sword in hand.

“Get away from my son, you filthy Galra brat!” Alfor yelled.

Lance turned back around, seeing both Kings readying attacks. Alfor with his mighty bow aiming for Keith and Zarkon with magic coursing from his hand aimed for him, while he laughed maniacally. “No! Keith!” he sprinted towards Keith as they released their attacks, trying to shield Keith from Alfor’s attack.

“Lance!” Keith yelled out again.

Both men leapt forward to push the other away from the oncoming onslaught. The arrow meant for Keith, penetrated Lance’s back, piercing his chest; the magic meant for Lance, landing directly into Keith’s chest, burning away the material of the cloak and shirt he wore and scolding his skin, causing blisters and welts to appear almost instantly around the charred area. They were both flung to the ground by the force of the attacks, rolling across the dirt, clinging to each other until they came to a stop. 

It was like time had stopped. There was no sound of slashing swords, or people yelling out in pain, or fire crackling in the distance… just silence. All they could see was each other. Lance with his arms securely around Keith’s shoulders and Keith with his head resting on Lance’s arm, his arms wrapped around Lance’s waist. 

Lance coughed roughly, blood seeping from his mouth as he held onto Keith in a tight embrace. “I thought… I told you to stay… in my chamber… y-you're never very good… at listening to me.” He stuttered through painful breaths into Keith’s hair.

Keith wheezed out a slight chuckle, sending pain shooting through his body. He clenched his fists in the back of Lance’s shirt, feeling the blood that had already soaked through it, he closed his eyes. “I wanted to help...” He took a sharp breath, trying to quell the pain radiating through his chest. “Help you make the world a better place. I want to stay by your side always. I love you...” His voice fading out as darkness engulfed him.

Lance smiled, tiredly, as he felt his vision diminishing. “I love you too…” he whispered with waning breath, neither of them releasing their grip on the other.

Zarkon let out a menacing laugh at the irony, watching the two princes die right in front of him. “Two down, one to go.” He sneered, turning his attention back to Alfor.

The two Kings began battling it out again. Alfor was enraged that another of his family had been killed because of a Galra. He let out a fierce cry, bringing his sword around to swing at Zarkon.

Suddenly a blinding light flashed from the ground near Zarkon’s feet, a force of energy blowing the two Kings off their feet and throwing them in opposite directions; neither had time to react.

The two crystals hummed in unison, floating up from the ground and glided over to where Keith and Lance lay in a pile of dirt and blood. They began circling the two, the blue and red light encasing them in a warm purple glow. The arrow in Lance’s back disintegrated, the gaping hole, slowly closing, leaving no scars. The burn on Keith’s chest healed, the bubbled and charred skin now back to its original smooth texture. His ribs, leg and other cuts and bruises all healed as well, leaving him with no evidence that he had been wounded at all.

Opening his eyes, Lance looked down to see Keith stirring in his arms. He smiled down at him as Keith looked up confused as to what had just happened. Lance wasn’t sure himself, he just knew that he felt a strong power flowing through him, making him feel warm and that Keith was alive and well in his arms. That’s all that mattered to him.

Keith smiled back up at Lance. He had no idea what had just happened, but he felt better than he had ever felt before. A strange power ran through his body that he had never experienced before, giving him so much energy. Taking Lance’s hand in his own, he stood up, pulling Lance up with him.

The crystals came to stop in front of them, the blue in front of Lance, red in front of Keith. They stopped humming and the glow dimmed, forming the silhouettes of two people.

“Shiro?...” Keith’s eyes widened as he came face to face with his brother. He turned to the person standing next to him and saw a beautiful Altean women holding Shiro’s hand.

“Allura!” Lance exclaimed, in shock.

Shiro and Allura smiled at the two.

“We are so proud of you both; you have overcome the hatred of our people and found love with each other. It’s that love that has awakened the powers inside of your hearts.” Allura explained; her voice soft and melodic.

“The Altean and Galra crystals are supposed to be used in harmony with each other. When the rivalry between the two Kingdoms began 20 years ago, the crystals became weakened and then when Allura and I were killed, the power disappeared completely, leaving the Kingdoms vulnerable and unprotected. The mist that surrounds the kingdoms was supposed to prevent further bloodshed, but our fathers were too caught up in their animosity to realize they were the ones who caused this land to be cursed.” Shiro continued.

“By uniting our Kingdoms, you two will bring life back to the crystals; magic will once again thrive in the land.” Allura finished.

Lance frowned, confused, as he entwined his fingers with Keith’s hand beside him. “How do you know so much?”

“Shiro and I have learned a lot over the last 10 years. Our spirits have been trapped in an astral plane, but we have been able to tap into the power of the shards and watch over what has been happening.” Allura looked over to Keith. “I am so sorry for everything you have been through Keith. I wish we could have provided you with a better life. I hope you will forgive us.”

Shiro put his hand on Keith’s shoulder as he saw the tears fall from his younger brother’s eyes. “Please do not blame yourself for what happened to us. We know now that we could have handled things better, maybe we could have united the Kingdom’s ourselves and created a better place for both you and Lance, without all the hatred you have both had to endure. You have overcome so much Keith, I am so proud of the man you have become.” He turned to face Lance. “Thank you Lance, for looking after him and showing him the kindness he deserves. We know that you will both become great leaders.”

Allura took Lance’s hand in her smaller grasp as Shiro grabbed Keith’s hand.

“Now take these shards and release your power. Cleanse the world with your love and dispel the hatred.” Allura and Shiro spoke in unison before filtering back into orbs of light, the blue shard now in Lance’s hand and the red in Keith’s.

Lance glanced over at Keith, his fingers tightening around his.

Keith met Lance’s gaze and nodded at him in determination, returning the iron grip force of their entwined hands.

They both took a deep breath and closed their eyes, letting their new powers consume them completely; a blue glow encircled Lance, a magenta one around Keith, their eyes shining in an ethereal light. Raising their crystals in front of them, a powerful energy materialized, sending a pulsating wave of blinding light across the field, covering everything it came in contact with. Every weapon disintegrated, those who were wounded were completely healed, the fires were extinguished and the mist vanquished from the land. 

Lance and Keith walked forward, hand in hand, the power making it seem like they were floating along the ground as the light continued to heal the wrongdoings of their fathers. They stopped in front of their Kings, each facing their own father.

Alfor scrambled back along the ground, holding his arm up to surrender. “Lance, son, please, you know I was only trying to protect you. That’s all I’ve wanted, to protect my kingdom and its people.” He tried to reason.

Lance made no acknowledgment. Only stared down at him, the sapphire blue of his eyes reflecting in the light.

Zarkon made no attempt to plead for his life, only glared up at Keith.

“You have tarnished this land in darkness and hatred, for this you will now be judged by the power of the crystals. No longer will we allow you to rein.” Lance and Keith spoke in unison, the light in their eyes exploding, casting their glow upon the fallen kings.

Both Kings screamed out as the power from the crystals immersed through their bodies, seeking out the darkness that dwelled in their hearts. Heat radiated in their chests as the overwhelming hatred was brought to the surface. They both thrashed on the ground in pain, as the light dimmed for a moment, before completely encompassing them. A beam of light shot up to the sky from their hearts, their bodies slowly began to evaporate into light particles until there was nothing but the beam left. It lifted into the sky leaving no evidence of the Kings behind.  
When the beam had completely disappeared, the light surrounding Keith and Lance dimmed and faded away.

Blinking and shaking his head to clear his mind from the fuzziness, Keith turned around to look at Lance, seeing him rub at his own head. “I-uh… I think we just killed our fathers…”

Lance dropped to the ground, clutching his head. “Why would the crystals give us the power to destroy people if we are supposed to use them to help… I know my father was filled with hate, but he didn’t deserve to die. I could have helped him.”

Keith knelt down next to Lance and pulled him into an embrace. “I’m sorry about your father, the crystals power must have been too much for him to handle. I don’t think it was trying to destroy them, I think it wanted to purge the darkness in their hearts… I guess he just had too much and he couldn’t be saved.”

Lance shook in Keith’s arms, tears cascading down his cheeks. “No more… I am not letting anyone else I care about die. I don’t care what it takes.”

Keith buried his face in Lance’s hair. “We’ll do it together. For the rest of our lives, right?”  
Lance pulled back, wiping his eyes and smiled at Keith. “Yeah, for the rest of our lives.” His hand caressed Keith’s cheek as he leant forward and kissed him.

~~~~

 

*One month later *

Lance, Keith and Hunk were walking through the new castle gardens that Lance had insisted be a memorial ground for those who had been lost over the twenty year war. It took them weeks to prepare, Lance had used the Altean crystals power to cleanse and heal the area, allowing the vegetation and flowers to grow freely. Keith used the power of the Galra crystal to help build the structures; delicate archways and pillars lined the rows of plaques. Each person had their own place in the garden, no matter if they were royalty, noble or peasant born.

“I set them up beside each other as you instructed.” Hunk guided them to the far corner of the garden.

They stopped in front of two memorial plaques at the end of the garden. These two were separate from the others, housing their own secret spot covered by a canopy of beautiful white and purple lilies.

Lance smiled, looking over at Keith to see he had a soft look on his face. He turned his attention back to Hunk, taking Keith’s hand in his own. “Thank you, it’s perfect. I’m sure they would agree.”

Keith bit his lip for a moment, trying to compose himself. “They can finally rest in peace together.” He whispered.

Hunk nodded. “Alright, well I’ll leave you guys to it. I’ll see you later.” He turned to leave the two Kings to say their final goodbyes.

Once Hunk left, Lance left out a small sigh. “You ready?” he asked Keith quietly, knowing this was hard for him.

Keith only nodded as he pulled his shard from his pocket, clenching it in his hand.  
Lance pulled his out as well.

They both took a deep breath before placing their shards on their corresponding plaque.  
As they stood back, the shards began to glow slightly. The forms of Allura and Shiro appearing once more in front of Lance and Keith.

“Thank you both. We can now rest in peace together, knowing you are both safe and happy.” Allura smiled softly, her blue/lilac eyes sparkling in the sunlight.

“You have both done well in uniting the Kingdoms in such a short amount of time. We couldn’t be more proud. Take care…” Shiro’s voice faded out as both he and Allura burst into little balls of light, floating into the sky.

“Goodbye…” Keith whispered, tears falling from his violet eyes.

Lance brought his arm around Keith’s shoulders in a half hug as they both watched the remains of their siblings vanish in the wind.

A few moments after the last orb had disappeared, Lance kissed Keith’s forehead gently. “You alright?”

Keith gave him a soft smile, wiping the tears from his eyes. “Yeah. He’s happy and at peace with Allura. Besides I’m not alone…” His smile turned into a smirk as he poked at Lance’s ribs playfully. “I have this loud, obnoxious husband now.”

Lance pouted, trying to tickle Keith in retaliation. “Hey, this husband of yours is also smart, handsome and charming and don’t forget his incredible sense of humor.” He wrapped his arm around Keith’s waist trapping him while he continued his assault on Keith’s sides.

Keith laughed and struggled against Lance’s grip. “Oh, how could I forget when you remind me so often?” He teased, as he stopped struggling, instead pulling himself closer to Lance, their faces inches apart; breath mingling together and looked up into Lance’s crystal blue eyes, his arms wrapping themselves around the Alteans neck.

Lance paused his onslaught as Keith pulled him up face to face. He stared into those gorgeous violet eyes and smiled brightly. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too, more than you’ll ever know.” Keith smiled back before pressing his lips against Lance’s.

The lilies behind them blew in the wind, a white one falling to land on Allura’s plaque and a deep purple on landing on Shiro’s. 

 

END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that's it! Keith and Lance get their happy ending and live happily ever after haha
> 
> I am both happy and sad that this has ended. It's my first multi-chaptered fic and I honestly didn't think it would be as long as this but it just had a mind of its own!
> 
> Again thank you for everyone who has read this. Please leave a comment letting me know what you thought. I'd love to hear feedback!
> 
> If you would like to come talk Voltron or Klance please come say hi on my Tumblr @forsakenangel88


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